HSE encourages people to use a medicines list

The HSE encourages everyone who takes regular medicines to keep an up-to-date list of their current medication. The HSE Health App ‘My medicines list’ provides a secure place for you to record a list of your medicines, which can be useful for pharmacy or hospital visits. It also allows people to see a list of their medicines received through the Drugs Payment Scheme or Medical Card Scheme.

Keeping a list can help you know your medicines. It can also help you when you are discussing your medicines with a healthcare professional. This feature is available in both English and Irish on the HSE Health App.

You can download and print a paper version which is available in 53 languages from the HSE website.

Anyone aged 16 and over can download the HSE Health App for free from Google Play or the App Store.

The app allows people to carry a digital list of self-declared medications and see a list of medicines received through the Drugs Payment Scheme or Medical Card Scheme. 

It allows them to store their:

• European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)
• medical card
• Long-term Illness card (LTI)
• Drugs Payment Scheme card (DPS)
• GP visit card

It provides access to flu and COVID-19 vaccination records and allows the user to easily find information about HSE services, such as EDs and Injury Units. Maternity patients can see their hospital appointments. We are working to add more features and appointments in 2025.

Ciara Kirke, Clinical Lead of the HSE’s National Medication Safety Programme, says: “Having a list of your medicines is so useful. You can use it to keep track of your medicines. You can use it to communicate information about your medication clearly with healthcare professionals at appointments, or if you’re admitted to hospital. If you haven’t used a list before, you can watch a video showing you why and how to use a medicines list. This is available in English, Irish and Irish sign language (ISL). Our team has worked with translators and people in our community to translate the My Medicines List into 53 languages.

“This means that everybody should be able to keep a list that they understand, and use it when they need healthcare. We hope these resources will be really useful to patients and all those involved in their healthcare, including your pharmacist, GP and consultants. We encourage healthcare professionals, agencies and groups to share the list within their communities.”

What to include:

• All prescribed and over-the-counter medicines and supplements
• Inhalers, patches, injections, creams, eye drops and any other prescribed products
• Over the counter medicines, vitamins and other supplements, herbal, homeopathic or alternative medicines
• Dosage, the amount of medication and the time taken, along with any allergies.

It is recommended to keep the list up-to-date regularly as medications or dosages may change.

Dr Orla Healy, National Clinical Director in the HSE’s Quality and Patient Safety Directorate said: “Medication safety is a key priority for the HSE as outlined in the Patient Safety Strategy 2019-2024. 10% of emergency admissions of older adults are related to medication harm*. At some point in our lives, we all take medications. For those of us who take multiple medications daily, it can become confusing to keep track. Keeping a medicines list is a simple tool but it has been shown to help reduce medication related harm.”

Improving health communications is an ongoing priority for the HSE and Patients for Patient Safety Ireland, a patient advocacy group. ‘My Medicines List’ is a useful resource for both patients and their healthcare providers.

Bernie O’Reilly, Patients for Patient Safety Ireland, said: “As Chair of Patients for Patient Safety Ireland I recognise the importance of encouraging everyone on medication to keep their own medicines list. Healthcare systems are not seamless and the information we share as individuals contributes to our own safety. The HSE ‘My Medicines List’ provides an excellent template, now available in 53 languages. Medication is the most applied intervention in patient care, an up-to-date medicines list captures vital information for sharing at every healthcare interaction. When the question is ‘what medication are you taking?’, the answer is ‘I have it listed here on my medicines list.”