Medication histories taken before conception often miss injectable drugs for weight or diabetes, which patients may not count as medicines. A direct question about any injections, including those bought without prescription or taken for weight loss, lets you plan stopping, glycaemic control and contraception before an unplanned pregnancy occurs.
- Ask specifically about injectable weight-loss or diabetes drugs.
- Record the agent, dose and start date.
- Agree a plan for the drug if pregnancy is planned or occurs.
- Revisit contraception at the same visit.
Why it matters
A drug the patient does not think of as a medicine is the one most likely to be missing from the record.
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