This series of "advice tips" on commonly used drugs is written by pharmacists from the Sussex Pharmacy Academic Practice Unit. It is intended as a reminder of points to be made by pharmacists as they hand out dispensed medicines. The list is not intended to be comprehensive but to cover some important points.
Cards for sale: Sets of the first 25 "tips" are now available for sale as 12 x 15cm cards, supplied with a ring binder, at a cost of £9.95. Orders should be sent to Pharmacy Practice Consultants, 12 Firle Road, Lancing, West Sussex BN15 0NZ, with cheques payable to Pharmacy Practice Consultants. Email: stewartppc@compuserve.com
By Carina Livingstone BPharm PhD MRPharmS
Research Pharmacist, Sussex Pharmacy Academic Practice Unit and Director, Pharmacy Practice Consultants, and
Duncan Livingstone BPharm MSc MRPharmS
Chief Pharmacist, Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, West Sussex
The "Advice for Patients" series, first published in The Pharmaceutical Journal, arose from a patient counselling practiced research project in community pharmacies. We are grateful to Joanna Lumb, Senior Assistant Editor at The Journal, for supporting the development of this quick reference patient counselling aid. The medicines included have been selected because they are amongst those most frequently dispensed by pharmacists.
We should like to stress that "Advice for Patients" has been produced as an aid for health professionals. The cards are not intended for issue to patients and do not replace the written patient information produced by medicine manufacturers.
Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, the authors and publishers cannot accept liability for any errors or omissions. Readers are advised to refer to the manufacturers' product details (summary of product characteristics/data sheet) for the most contemporary information
(43) Allopurinol tablets
(41) Amlodipine tablets
(9) Amoxycillin capsules
(25) Aspirin 75mg dispersible tablets
(8) Atenolol tablets
(18) Beclomethasone inhaler
(6) Bendrofluazide tablets
(37) Betamethasone valerate cream and ointment
(17) Captopril tablets
(26) Chloramphenicol eye-drops
(31) Co-amoxiclav tablets
(38) Co-codamol tablets (8/500 and 30/500)
(20) Co-dydramol tablets
(7) Co-proxamol tablets
(22) Combined oral contraceptives: 21-day monophasic products
(40) Diazepam tablets
(14) Diclofenac tablets
(11) Digoxin tablets
(10) Erythromycin tablets
(27) Ferrous sulphate tablets
(12) Fluoxetine capsules
(15) Frusemide tablets
(34) Gliclazide tablets
(28) Hypromellose eye drops
(3) Ibuprofen tablets
(19) Isosorbide dinitrate and mononitrate modified release capsules and tablets
(36) Ispaghula husk
(4) Lactulose solution
(35) Lansoprazole capsules
(33) Loratadine tablets
(32) Metformin tablets
(21) Nifedipine modified release preparations
(13) Omeprazole capsules
(45) Oxybutynin tablets
(29) Paracetamol tablets
(23) Penicillin V tablets
(24) Phenytoin tablets and capsules
(5) Ranitidine tablets
(1) Salbutamol inhaler
(30) Senna tablets
(44) Simvastatin
(42) Tamoxifen tablets
(2) Temazepam tablets
(15) Thyroxine tablets
(39) Trimethoprim tablets