My husband was just cleaning out his piles of papers, and amazingly found an interesting sheet titled, “Patients Don’t Remember Doctors’ Instructions.”

Shocking as it sounds between 40 and 80 percent of what doctors tell patients they forget – immediately! Only half the information they tell us do we remember correctly, and the more information they give us, the less we remember correctly. Well, frankly, that doesn’t surprise me.

There is, however, a useful tip offered on the sheet if you need a little reminding what pills you take, when and what they’re for. It’s a tool called a “Pill Card.” And the best thing to do is create one for yourself based on what you’re taking. 

The card includes the name of each medicine you take, how much, what it does and then uses pictures to remind you of these things. You can find instructions, graphics and templates at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Have fun. Turns out 94% of people who were given a pill card said it helped them remember the information their doctor gave them correctly.