What to put on your medication list
The FDA says your list should have:
- the name of each medicine
- the strength of each medicine
- what you take it for
- when, how and how much you take it, as your instructions say
- your allergies and your emergency contacts
The list layout has a column for each of these, plus lines for allergies, an emergency contact and a phone number at the top. The maker fills in the name, the amount, the time and your notes. The other columns print blank, so you can write them in by hand.
Put everything on it, and that means more than prescriptions. AHRQ, a US health agency, says to include medicines you buy without a prescription, such as pain relievers, antacids, laxatives and allergy or cough medicine, plus vitamins and herbal or dietary supplements.
How to keep a medication list
A list only helps if it is up to date. The FDA says to review and update it often, and most of all when something changes: a new prescription, a different dose, or a medicine you stopped. AHRQ gives the same advice: add a new medicine when you start it or when a dose changes.
It helps to keep the list where you will see it, and to print a fresh copy whenever anything changes. Write the date at the top so you know which copy is the newest. The maker prints "Updated" with the date you pick.
Where to keep it and who gets a copy
The FDA says to keep a copy with you all the time. You can take a photo of it on your phone, or keep a paper copy with your health insurance card. It also says to share it with a trusted relative, friend or caregiver, such as someone who goes to visits with you.
AHRQ says to make a copy of your list, keep one and give the other to a family member or friend. It also says to show the list to your doctor and your pharmacist.
Why a list matters
The FDA says a medication list helps health care workers know your current health and cut down on medicine mistakes and bad drug mixes. It says the list can also help in an emergency, when you may not be able to speak for yourself.
The FDA also notes CDC figures: almost 70% of people aged 40 to 79 used at least one prescription drug in the past 30 days, and about 1 in 5 Americans used at least five. The more medicines you take, the harder they are to remember.
How many medicines fit on one page
A list has no check boxes, so each row is short. When we saved it as a PDF in Chromium (the open source base of Chrome) on 4 October 2026, keeping 3 blank rows, one page held:
| Layout | US Letter | A4 |
|---|---|---|
| List | 18 | 20 |
Past that, the list carries on to page two. Staple the pages together so the full list stays in one place.
Medication list or medication log
A medication list says what you take. A medication log records each time you take it. Many people keep both. For a log with boxes to check, use the daily medication chart or the weekly layout. To plan the times in a day, use the medication schedule template. Every layout is on the printable medication log home page.