Making sure healthcare professionals involved in your care know about your condition and treatments

Information for the public

It is important that all healthcare professionals involved in your care know about your condition and treatments and there should be good communication between healthcare professionals. If you are transferred from one place to another – for example, from one hospital ward to another, or into the community if you have been in hospital – relevant information about you and your medicines should be shared between healthcare professionals (and social care practitioners) involved in your care. This should include:

your contact details
your GP's contact details
details of other relevant contacts you or members of your family or your carers have identified (for example, your nominated community pharmacy – the pharmacy that is most suitable for you)
information about allergies you have to medicines or their ingredients or reasons why you haven't been able to take specific medicines in the past
details of the medicines you are taking at the moment, including the dose, how they are taken and what they are taken for
changes to your medicines, including medicines started or stopped, or dosage changes, and reason for the change
date and time of the last dose – for example, for medicines that are taken once a week or once a month, including any injections or patches you have
what information you (or your family members or carers) have been given
other information, including when your medicines should be reviewed or monitored, and what support you may need to carry on taking the medicines.