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medicines
Tips to read your
medication label
LOCAL PHARMACY
123 MAIN STREET
ANYTOWN, USA 11111
800-555-5555
NO
0043315-34851
DR S. SMITH
DATE 08/05/15
JANE DOE
678 MAIN STREETANYTOWN, USA 11111
TAKE ONE CAPSULE BY MOUTH THREE
TIMES DAILY FOR 10 DAYS UNTIL ALL TAKEN
AMOXICILLIN 500 MG CAPSULES
QTY
MRG
NO REFILLS - DR. AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED
USE BEFORE 08/05/17
RxONLY
SLF/SLF
Direction
Tip
Take 1 tablet once daily
Take dose at the same time each day
Take 2 tablets once daily
Take both tablets at the same time
Take 1 tablet twice a day
Take doses 12 hours apart
Take 1 tablet three times a day
Take doses 8 hours apart
Pharmacy name and address
Drugstore phone number
Doctor’s
name
Prescription
fill date
Don’t use this drug past this date
Number used by
the drugstore
to identify this
drug for your
refills
Person who gets
this drug
Instructions
about how often
and when to
take this drug
Number of refills before a certain date
You just returned
home from
the hospital.
What now?
If you or a loved one recently
stayed at the hospital, you
were probably sent home with
a lot of papers. You may also
not remember exactly what
the doctors and nurses said to
do. e guide
Taking Care of
Myself: A Guide for When I Leave
M
edicines, or drugs, come
as either a prescription or
over the counter (OTC).
Prescription drugs are used under
a doctor’s care. OTC drugs can be
bought and used without a doctor’s
prescription, and you buy them at
a pharmacy or a store.
When using any kind of
drug, it’s important to read the
drug label for instructions. Not
following the instructions can
hurt your health. Be sure to read
the label each time and space your
doses out as evenly as possible.
See the drug label below to know
what to look for. If you read the
label and still have questions, call
your doctor for help.
Other tips.
e expiration date
is when the medicine will expire. If
only the month and year is written
(for example, 05/2015), it will
expire on the last day of the month
(for example, 05/31/2015).
e labels on the side
contain important information
about your medicine, such as
dietary restrictions (Do not
take with grapefruit juice),
activity restrictions (May cause
drowsiness—do not drive), and/
or drug interactions (Do not take
with acetaminophen).
2
living
healthy