To ask, PLEASE, if you take any medication

[drinthehouse]

always have an up to date list of your medication on your phone (because I’ve yet to see a patient who doesn’t have a phone with them).
I work in A&E. I can’t guess what medication you take if you tell me it’s oblong and orange and begins with a b. There are thousands of medications out there. I may not have access to your previous hospital notes, and your GP will only email me your medication list....most likely in 2 days time.
If every patient could manage to bring a list of their medication including doses (just take a photo of your repeat prescription), that alone would save the NHS thousands of pounds a year in time spent by doctors trying to find out what the purple round pill beginning with r is.
Please tell your friends. Take a picture of your granny’s meds on her phone, have a copy on your phone, put this on fb. And update it when your meds change. Please. Thank you (it’s been a long day).

If I’m unconscious in A&E it’s not going to be much good to as my phone will be locked. But the scarring should be a clue

That's a really good idea. Why don't you post something on FB and ask for it to be shared. You never know it could go viral.

ivykaty44, iPhones have a medical id that can be accessed without having to unlock the phone. I'm not sure about other phones though but I would have thought (hope) they have something similar.

I have a copy of mine in my purse, next to my driver's license.

ivy there will always be exceptions. The scarring doesn’t help in guessing exact medications and doses. And if you use you fingerprint to unlock your phone being unconscious won’t be a problem.

ivy the op from my read is talking about people who are not unconscious or are advocating for others?

And yep! If you are unconscious your phone can still be unlocked!

If you use the health app on an iPhone it can be accessed without you

I'm on blood thinning medication,along with several other meds for arthritis,fibromyalgia and hypertension. In the box that my blood thinning drugs come in,is a little card that I carry in my handbag,and it warns anyone in the event that I am involved in an accident/unconscious,I take this drug. On this card is space for me to fill in any other drugs that I take and in what dose. I don't keep a list on my phone. As the PP said,my phone would be locked,so wouldn't be much use to anyone trying to look at it!

If I’m unconscious in A&E it’s not going to be much good to as my phone will be locked. But the scarring should be a clue

Oh for goodness sake obviously the OP didn't mean people who were unconscious as you well know

I have mine on my emergency screen on my iPhone

I’m not saying it HAS to be on a phone (but this is the obvious place), the point I’m
making is just to make sure you always have a list of your medications and if you have an elderly relative their up to date medications in a place you can access when you are sitting in A&E.

I have an up to date prescription list in the front pocket of my bag with his number and local hospital number and a note that scrolls on my lock screen that says look in my bag and ice phone number I've got inflammatory arthritis, so many meds I often forget one when listing I'm going by being super prepared nothing will ever happen ;)

Nhs number

I carry the paper copy of my repeat prescriptions in my wallet along with the Anticoagulant Alert Card for the warfarin. My phone would be no use because it is a phone, not a pocket computer, and nobody would know where to look in it.

So if I am taken unconscious to A&E, the hospital will be able to find out all about me, home address, doctor and all.

(Oh, reminded: a dear friend of mine saying gently "Who's going to care that your bra is grey if you've just been hit by a bus?" to her daughter, who was fussing about WhatifIwasinanaccident? when one of her bras had got in the wrong wash.)

I also bring a print out from gp online thingy to every specialist appointment as despite having prescribed them all they never seem to know which meds and dose in clinic

I have a list of DS medications and doses in the notes section of my phone.

I also have another list of contact details for all his consultants

I'm considering having "must have irradiated blood only " tattooed on my chest!

Cant the hospital access that though? When I was in hospital recently they supplied all my meds without asking me

Thank you OP. if I were conscious I would know what I am on but I have set up my medical ID on iPhone now with all meds listed and emergency contact etc.

Slightly off topic, but what really gets me is people who haven't taken their meds for two weeks/two months/whatever because they've 'run out' (for that read cba to get any more) but when they get to me it's absolutely urgent and critical they have them NOW.
(I'm a custody officer)

"Oh, reminded: a dear friend of mine saying gently "Who's going to care that your bra is grey if you've just been hit by a bus?" to her daughter, who was fussing about WhatifIwasinanaccident? when one of her bras had got in the wrong wash."

That's a relief. I always thought they just let you die if you were wearing old underwear.

redglitter NO! That’s why I’m posting. If you have only ever been to one hospital in your entire life, and they have a paperless system you might be lucky. Don’t ever assume a hospital/dr can access your medical information. And they certainly can’t access your GPs information (ok, a tiny amount of info can sometimes be accessed via the nhs spine, on a sunny day, when there are unicorns flying over Westminster) or any other info from a hospital not in the same trust.

sgtFred, thank you 😊

Surely just carry a 'prescription repeat' slip will suffice!