Your medication list: how to make it and why to carry it with you
What your medication list should include, what format to carry it in, when to update it and who to show it to.
In short
- The Spanish Ministry of Health recommends keeping an up-to-date list of your medication and carrying it whenever you seek healthcare.
- It should include everything you take: prescription and over-the-counter medicines, inhalers, drops, patches, vitamins, supplements and herbal remedies, plus your allergies.
- Keep one copy in your wallet and another on your phone, and update it whenever anything changes.
- The treatment sheet from your electronic prescription helps, but it may not include what you buy without a prescription.
A medication list is a sheet, on paper or on your phone, with everything you take, at what dose, when and what for. Making one takes half an hour and, in return, it prevents errors when a doctor who does not know you sees you, when you go to A&E or when you yourself are not sure what was changed at your last appointment.
If you manage your own medication, this list is your best tool for independence: it lets you explain your treatment precisely in any situation.
| What will you find in this article? |
Why is it worth carrying a list of your medication?
Because it reduces medication errors and interactions, and because in an emergency it can speak for you. The Spanish Ministry of Health recommendations on medication reconciliation stress that people on long-term treatment should keep an up-to-date list and carry it whenever they seek healthcare.
Changing professional or care setting (health centre, specialist, hospital) is when a medicine is most easily lost or duplicated. The list helps to:
- Make sure each doctor knows what the others have prescribed.
- Spot duplicates, for example the same active ingredient under two different names.
- Avoid dangerous combinations with over-the-counter medicines or supplements.
- Give reliable information in an emergency, even if you cannot speak.
What should your medication list include?
Everything you take, not only what is prescribed, with the details someone else needs to understand your treatment without asking you. This table works as a template:
| Detail | Example of how to write it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine name and active ingredient | Brand name (active ingredient) | Avoids confusion with generics and duplicates |
| Strength and form | X mg tablets, inhaler, eye drops, patch | The same substance may come in several strengths |
| How much and when | 1 tablet at breakfast | Lets professionals review timings and interactions |
| What you take it for | Blood pressure, cholesterol, pain | Helps check whether it is still needed |
| Who prescribed it and since when | Cardiologist, March 2026 | Makes coordination between doctors easier |
| Over-the-counter products, vitamins, supplements and herbs | Occasional painkiller, vitamin D, herbal teas | They can also interact |
| Allergies and intolerances | Allergy to an antibiotic, lactose intolerance | Prevents serious reactions |
| Contacts and date | Health centre, pharmacy, emergency contact, date updated | Shows whether the list is current |
Do not forget anything that is not a tablet: injections, inhalers, medicated creams and drops. If you take supplements, it is worth reading when they can interfere with your medicines.
Which format should you use: paper, phone or electronic prescription?
Ideally, combine two formats: a paper sheet in your wallet, next to your health card, and a copy on your phone. That way you have it even if your battery dies or you lose your wallet.
- Paper: always works and anyone can read it. Write clearly or print it.
- Photo or document on your phone: quick to show. Many phones let you store emergency medical information that can be reached from the lock screen.
- Treatment sheet from your electronic prescription: at your health centre or in your region's health app you can check your active treatments. It is a good starting point, although it may not include what you buy without a prescription or everything prescribed outside the public system.
We explain how to check it in electronic prescriptions on your phone: how to see your active treatments.
When should you update it and who should you show it to?
Update it every time you start or stop a medicine or change its dose, and review the whole list at least at each check-up. An out-of-date list can be as misleading as having none.
- After every appointment where something changes, including with specialists or in private healthcare.
- After a hospital stay or an A&E visit: compare the discharge report with your list.
- When you buy something over the counter that you will take for more than a few days.
Show it to your GP, any specialist, your dentist, at the pharmacy, in A&E and before any procedure or test. It is useful for someone you trust to have a copy. To make the most of it at your appointment, read how to prepare for a medication review with your doctor.
A practical example: Pilar and her two doctors
Let us take the case of Pilar, 66, recently retired, with type 2 diabetes, an underactive thyroid and osteoarthritis. She sees her GP and also an endocrinologist at a private clinic. She takes six medicines, vitamin D and, when her knee hurts, a painkiller she buys over the counter.
- She prints the active treatments sheet from her electronic prescription and compares it with the boxes she has at home.
- She adds what is missing: what the private clinic prescribed, the vitamin D and the occasional painkiller.
- She notes what each medicine is for and her penicillin allergy.
- She keeps one copy in her wallet, another on her phone and sends one to her sister.
- At her next appointment, she shows the list to both doctors so they can check that everything fits together.
With a single sheet, any professional can see her complete treatment in a minute.
How can IMA Health help you?
With IMA Health, a specialised pharmacy prepares your medication by the day and time of each dose based on your treatment, which helps you always know what you take and when. IMA coordinates with the pharmacy, delivers your medication to your home and provides personalised follow-up, so it is easier to keep your list up to date when something changes.
Sources
- Spanish Ministry of Health: Recommendations on medication reconciliation in primary care (2022)
- Basque Government and ISMP Spain: How to use your medicines safely (in Spanish and Basque)
- FDA: Make and keep a list of the medicines you take (in Spanish)
This article is for information only and does not replace advice from your doctor or pharmacist.