Province pushing medication info cards

CHARLOTTETOWN, Prince Edward Island, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Officials in a Canadian province say they want residents to use a new form to list all of their medications -- and carry it with them.

Prince Edward Island health officials say prescription medications, vitamins, supplements or other over-the-counter products should all be listed on the new form, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Friday.

More than half of patients arriving at Canadian hospitals can't provide a complete list of what medications they're taking, said Scott Cameron, an emergency-room doctor at a Prince Edward Island hospital.

That information is vital for doctors, he said.

"None of us want to do anything or provide any treatment to a patient that potentially puts them at risk," he said. "And we have the best chance of not putting them at risk by knowing exactly what they're taking."

Provincial health organization Health P.E.I. is providing a medication list form as part of Canadian Patient Safety Week, the CBC reported.