Using Antibiotics Wisely 
The Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare created a brochure with tips on how to make antibiotics most effective, including a discussion of situations when antibiotics may not be needed.
Buying Medicines and Medical Products Online
The FDA offers tips and warnings for consumers who purchase medical products online. This site also provides links to articles dealing with other topics of consumer interest. Consumers can notify the FDA of suspected illegal medical sites by submitting the form provided.
Preventing Infections in the Hospital
This fact sheet by the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) provides information on what you as a patient can do to protect yourself from infections while in the hospital. This fact sheet can be downloaded or printed for future reference.
20 Tips to Prevent Medical Errors in Children
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) provides a fact sheet with 20 steps parents can take to prevent drug reactions and other medical errors in children. Every parent should have a copy of this publication for reference. This fact sheet can be downloaded or printed.
Be Involved in Your Health Care
Virginians Improving Patient Care and Safety (VIPC&S), a coalition of hospitals, health care providers, and health plans, developed this brochure on preventing medical errors from variety of sources. A link to download the PDF version is provided. The brochure is available in Spanish in both .htm and PDF versions.
Avoiding Medication Errors
This publication by the American Pharmacists Association provides a list of questions that informed consumers should ask their doctor and pharmacist about their medications. It also provides steps the patient can take at home to prevent harmful drug interactions and other potential problems.
Think It Through: A Guide to Managing the Benefits and Risks of Medicines
This brochure developed by the Partnership for Safe Medication Use provides tips on how consumers can lower the risks associated with medicines while obtaining the full benefits. This full color publication can be downloaded and printed.
Tips for Seniors on Safe Medicine Use
This tip sheet by the Council on Family Health provides important information for seniors on the safe use of medicine. This tip sheet is also available in Spanish. The Council on Family Health also offers a printable chart on which seniors can list medications and record any side effects.
How to Create a Pill Card
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's How to Create a Pill Card provides step-by-step instructions for making a pill card using a computer and printer. One in four Americans do not take prescription medicines as prescribed. Many people who fail to adhere to medication instructions do so because they do not understand how to take their medicines. Research has shown that using a pill card-which uses pictures and simple phrases to show each medicine, its purpose, how much to take, and when to take it-reduces misunderstandings. Download the instructions here.
