Keep a dated medicine list ready for your next conversation

A medicine list can become a collection of copies: a page in a folder, a note on a phone and a printout from an earlier appointment. Start by identifying which copy you are working on and dating the information you put there.

This is a guide to the paperwork. It does not decide what you should take, resolve conflicting instructions or recommend a medicine, supplement, dose or schedule.

Give the working copy a date

Choose one place for your working list, such as a paper page or a document you already keep on your own device. Add the date you last updated it. If the list is unfinished, write “working copy” and keep a short note of what still needs checking. A date records when you edited the list; it does not mean a clinician has checked it.

Keep older copies clearly identified as older copies. You can label the folder that holds them with its date rather than altering an original document from the pharmacy or clinic. When you make a copy for a visit, check that it came from the working version you intended to bring.

Gather the information you already have

The FDA's medicine-record guidance includes prescription medicines, over-the-counter products and dietary supplements, including products used only occasionally. Its record also includes an as-of date and space for questions. Read the FDA's My Medicine Record instructions (PDF).

Gather the labels, current instructions and lists you already use. When you copy information, keep the wording and units as written. Do not expand an abbreviation, calculate a different amount or fill an unclear space from memory just to finish the page.

If two documents disagree, keep them available and write the disagreement as a question. For example, the note could say “The two copies show different wording; please help me confirm what belongs on this list.” That records an unresolved question without choosing an instruction for you. The FDA form also suggests asking a doctor or pharmacist for help completing the record.

Use separate spaces for information and questions

Open the medication and supplement list. It has a date field and separate areas for prescriptions, over-the-counter products, supplements, pharmacy contact details and questions for a clinician or pharmacist. Use one line per item in the relevant area and follow the field's label when copying existing information.

Keep questions in the questions area so they are not mistaken for instructions. Here is a fictional paperwork example with no medicine or dose:

Item I want to check: the entry copied from my most recent pharmacy printout.

What is unclear: the name is cut off on my photocopy.

What I will bring: the original printout so the name can be checked.

If someone helps you type, compare the completed lines with the source together. Use the worksheet's review checkbox only after the review it describes has actually happened. Typing, printing or dating a list does not perform that review.

Keep a copy before leaving the website

The worksheet holds entries only in the current page's memory. Reloading, closing the tab or navigating to another page loses them. The website does not keep a saved medicine list or transfer these entries to the app. Use Print this worksheet and inspect the browser's print preview before leaving, or start with an empty printed worksheet and write by hand.

Record the clarification when you have it

After a clinician or pharmacist helps clarify an entry, copy the confirmed information and update the working list's date. Keep any still-unanswered question visible. The point is to show what information you have and what needs checking, not to make the page look finished by guessing.