| This section of the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital website will make available to our patients information they need or may want to know about some of our services.
CLICK
HERE for the most recent BASIC LIST OF CHARGES
Click on the test or procedure information you need
(in left column), read
the information, and follow the instructions carefully.
PLEASE BE SURE TO REGISTER AT PATIENT REGISTRATION
/ ADMITTING BEFORE GOING FOR YOUR TEST OF PROCEDURE
(unless instructed otherwise).
Thank you.
Additional information will be added to this site as
it becomes available.
And, following is SOME VERY IMPORTANT NEW INFORMATION
MEDICATION SAFETY IS IMPORTANT
AT BMH
by Cathy Tallen, RN, and Mary Urquhart, RN
CLICK
HERE TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE
PATIENT MEDICATION LIST FORM
(PDF format)
(Caveat: We suggest you read
the information below before using the form)
One of the most common types of medical mistakes has
to do with medication errors – when patients take
too many, too few, or the wrong pills. Medication errors
can be very serious and lead to serious complications,
admission to the hospital or even death. The
good news is that patients and family members can help
prevent medication errors, both at home and in the hospital.
Many medication errors occur at “transition points”
such as when patients enter the hospital, move from
one room to another, or leave the hospital to go home.
There are some ways you can help prevent medication
errors at these transition points.
At Brattleboro Memorial Hospital we are taking steps
to focus on safety around the use of medications, including
extra focus on your medications at those times.
A list of your medications
You can help prevent errors by knowing about all the
medications you take. This can be hard to do. To help,
make a list of all your medications. Bring this list
with you each time you see a doctor or other health
care provider, and ask them to update the list.
We have created a form you can use. It is started when
you are admitted to the hospital, and is available here
on the BMH website, click
here and/or from your doctor’s office.
Whatever form you use, your medication list should
include:
- Names of all your medications (include over-the-counter,
vitamins, and herbal remedies)
- Dosages (how much you take of each medication)
- Time (when you take each medication)
- Route or ways you take each medication (such as
a pill, patch, or liquid)
As a patient at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, this
list is referred to by your doctor when you are admitted;
if you are transferred from one unit to another; and
when you leave the hospital. When you are discharged
from BMH, we want you to know exactly what to take or
not take from your original list, as well as anything
new.
Ways to use a medication list
- Bring your medication list each time you go to the
doctor’s office, hospital, emergency room, or
clinic.
- If you are too sick to do so yourself, ask a family
member to show the medication list to your doctors
and nurses.
- Make sure your family has your doctor’s name
and phone number. This way, they can help the doctors
and nurses find out what medications you take.
- When you leave the hospital, talk with the doctor
or nurse about the medications you will take at home.
This is also a good time to ask why you need to take
these medications.
Up-to-date medication information
Ways to make sure your medication list is up-to-date
and avoid mistakes:
- Ask the doctor or nurse if your list includes all
the medications you take now, and ask them to update
your list each visit.
- Make changes on your list each time you start or
stop taking a medication.
- Ask your pharmacist to review your medication list
and make any needed changes.
- Make sure that the medications you are taking do
not interact with one another. Ask your pharmacist
or doctor for help if you aren’t sure.
- Try to use the same pharmacy for all your prescriptions
and refills, so that your pharmacist can tell you
about medications that you should not take at the
same time.
- Throw away all medications you no longer take.
Some information for this
article came from The 100,000 Lives Campaign,
a national initiative of the Institute for Healthcare
Improvement to engage more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals
in a commitment to implement changes in care that
have been proven to prevent avoidable deaths.
The goal of the Campaign is to save 1000,000 lives
by June 2006.
http://www.ihi.org/IHI/Programs/Campaign/Campaign/htm
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For further information about this subject,
CLICK on address below -
http://www.fda.gov/cder/consumerinfo/my_medicine_record.htm
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