Have you ever gotten home with a new prescription, only to realize you can’t quite remember the doctor’s instructions and are struggling to understand the details printed on the Product Information sheet? It’s a common issue, especially when there’s a delay between receiving the prescription and getting the medication. Most pharmacies can’t stock every medication on hand. They only order them from a central warehouse after you’ve presented your prescription, adding days to the wait. This is especially true for new medications or those experiencing high demand, like the recent shortages of diabetic drugs Ozempic and Mounjaro.
At IsraelPharm, we do our very best to provide a safety net through a comprehensive website that offers vital information about each drug we sell, including its purpose, usage, basic components, usual dosage, and expected side effects. Our dedicated support team, available via chat, phone, or email, is always ready to address any concerns about the medications we supply, assist with order tracking, and resolve any issues. This is our commitment to your peace of mind.
Additionally, we ensure that every customer receives their prescription medication and a comprehensive Product Information sheet insert. These inserts can be found within the medication box and on the product page on our website. This insert is not just a piece of paper; it’s a valuable resource packed with detailed information about the medication, its usage, and potential side effects. It’s key to making informed decisions about your health and understanding what you put into your body.
The purpose of this blog is to demystify the patient information insert and make it easier for you to understand. We understand that it can sometimes be a bit confusing, but that’s because it has to conform to the laws controlling prescription medication in whichever country it is produced.
Here is a list of the five most important facts a new medication user should look for on the Product Information sheet when they first use a brand-new drug.
The Main Headings on the Product Information sheet
#1. What is this medicine intended for?
The medicine was prescribed to treat the specific condition or symptoms that you have been diagnosed with. These are described on the Product Information sheet that comes with it, usually listing the purpose(s) of the medicine. Some medicines treat more than one condition, which this section will also describe. The conditions shown on the leaflet are relevant only to the use of the medicine approved by the licensing authorities in the country where the medicine was manufactured. This includes the FDA in the US, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in the EU, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the UK, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in Australia, and others.
Doctors also have the choice of prescribing drugs not approved by the FDA and other agencies for your condition, as long as they consider it an appropriate therapy. This is known as off-label prescribing, and about 20% of all prescriptions are of this type. In such a case, the contents of the product leaflet may not describe the purpose for which this prescription was issued to you. If any further information is necessary, you should speak to the doctor who issued the prescription or to a pharmacist, or feel free to reach out to our friendly support team for advice.
In layman’s terms, the way a particular medicine works can also be described in the leaflet, which is a short description that explains the mechanism of action. For example, if you’re taking a blood pressure medication, it would say something like, “It works by relaxing your blood vessels to make it easier for your heart to pump blood.”
#2. Before using this medicine
The Product Information sheet must identify any possible negative features of the medicine related to pre-existing conditions or interactions with other medications or foods. It is the responsibility of the prescribing healthcare provider to establish from your medical history and behavior whether any such adverse interactions can occur and to decide whether the benefit you would be getting from the medication outweighs these risks. As in all other matters, the prescribing doctor’s decision is decisive, and you should not take different actions without discussing this first.
However, it’s advisable to study the list of possible adverse reactions, usually listed on the leaflet under this heading. If there is any possibility that the prescribing doctor may not have been aware of any of these conditions in your medical history, or if you are taking any medications (prescribed or over-the-counter) or eating any special foods or on a special diet that was not known to the prescriber at the time of the consult, then it is strongly advised to speak to the doctor, or another healthcare provider, before undertaking treatment with this medicine.
The same advice applies to women who may already be pregnant or could become pregnant. Some medications can harm the unborn child or the mother, and there would be warnings on the leaflet about what steps may need to be taken with regard to contraception. This can even involve advising the male partners of women who should not become pregnant while taking the medication to take extra steps to prevent conception. If you didn’t discuss this with the prescribing doctor, then special attention should be paid to the notes here.
Some medications can pass through a mother’s blood into breast milk and have the potential to harm nursing babies. Watch out for warnings about this on the leaflet.
#3. How to use this medicine
Always take it exactly as your doctor has prescribed. If you can’t remember the doctor’s instructions, the dosage and regimen (time of day, frequency, and any other special instructions) should be printed on the outside of the container that holds the medications. There will also be printed guidelines on the leaflet, but these are for general information only and don’t override any explicit instructions from the doctor or dispensing pharmacist. If you have any questions about using this medication, don’t hesitate to ask us, a doctor, or another pharmacist.
There may also be special requirements on how to take the medicine. There can be specifics about taking it before, with, or after food, and it may even be necessary to leave a gap between when the medicine is taken and when other drugs or food types are taken. It’s important to read the instructions printed on the outer packaging that came with the medicine, which may have instructions specific to your case, and to refer to the general instructions in this section of the leaflet. Under no circumstances should you use the leaflet’s instructions, if they are different instructions on the outside label, without consulting a doctor or pharmacist first.
In most cases, if a scheduled dose is accidentally missed and can be made up for within a short period, it is OK to do this but avoid taking the missed dose close to the scheduled time of the next one. In almost every case, it’s advised not to double-dose by taking the missed dose together with the next dose. If there’s any doubt about the right thing to do, refer to the instructions on the product leaflet or talk to a healthcare provider.
#4. Possible side effects of the medicine
All medicines have the potential to cause unwanted side effects. Doctors consider these when deciding to prescribe the medicine, balancing the possibility of negative effects against the expected benefits. Drug companies must perform extensive tests on their products, measuring their benefits, before they can get approval from the FDA. They will not get approval unless there is overwhelming evidence that the medicine provides a level of safety matching the degree of benefit. When negative effects have been recorded, they have to list these on the product information leaflet, even when the likelihood is very low that a person may be affected in this way.
Some side effects require special attention, and those details are printed at the top of the side effects section on the product leaflet. It’s always advisable to read this section carefully and never discard the product leaflet as long as the medication is being taken or stored for future use.
#5. Storing, use, and disposal of medicine
Storing
Medications are all chemicals of some sort and must be stored properly to keep their functionality and not decay. Proper storage depends on the format of the medications and the type of chemical. For example, pills and capsules can usually be stored in the original packaging after opening as long as they are kept in the right temperature environment. This is usually printed on the leaflet as a maximum. Pills enclosed in sealed containers or blisters are more sensitive to humidity, so if any blisters have been opened before, it is advisable to dispose of the pill and not take it.
Liquids, ointments, and gels are more sensitive to light and heat. Usually, the instructions on the leaflet advise using the product only for a certain number of days after the first opening.
Many newer self-injectable medications should be kept in a refrigerator before opening. The required temperature is printed on the container and the leaflet.
Use
By law, all medications, prescription and over-the-counter, must have an expiry date printed on the packaging or container. The date is in the form of month and year. It is not safe to use the medicine after the last day of that month. If the date is not visible or the medicine is no longer in the original package, it’s strongly advised to stop using it.
Disposing
Be kind to the environment and dispose of any medicine safely. Flushing it down the drain, burning it, or throwing it into the garbage could release dangerous chemicals that could be poisonous. All pharmacies offer services to collect and properly dispose of unused medicines, so it is much better to let them handle disposal.
