By being an informed consumer and being involved in your health care, you can decrease the risks and get the most benefits from your medicine. This section provides information to help you work with your health care professionals to make informed choices when using medicine.

It also includes educational resources (brochures, pamphlets, and more) intended for use by educators, health care professionals, and consumers. These materials are available at Educational Resources: Ensuring Safe Use of Medicine.

Additional Resources

• Search and Rescue: Connecting prescribers to resources to help prevent drug misuse and abuse in their practices
  A Partnership for Drug-Free Kids campaign supported by an FDA grant aimed at combatting the nation’s epidemic of opioid misuse and abuse. Resources include information about CME/CE courses, state PDMPs, a fact sheet, a 1-minute abuse screener and videos.
• Educational Resources: Ensuring Safe Use of Medicine 
• 6 Tips to Avoid Medication Mistakes
  FDA Consumer Update  
• Lock it Up: Medicine Safety in Your Home
  FDA Consumer Update  
• Up and Away and Out of Sight  
  (CDC-led educational program) Encourages parents to follow a few simple steps to protect children from unintentional medication overdoses
• Script Your Future - raising awareness about medication adherence
  National Consumers League
• Talk Before You Take