Prescription medicines have become like new cars and breakfast cereals. Many of them are marketed directly to the public through ads on television and in magazines. Some medicines get so much free publicity that they don't need to be advertised.

Smart consumers use ads as motivation to learn more about their own illnesses and choices for treatment. When people read ads for medicines, they often have many unanswered questions. Always check with your doctors to get answers to your questions. Also, find out if the advertised medicine is right for you or just different from what you're already taking.

Medicines have the power to fight disease and improve quality of life. But many have serious side effects. Deciding whether the benefits are better than the risks depends on:

• Your age. Your body uses many medicines in different ways as you get older.
• Your lifestyle. For example, you may need to avoid medicines that make you sleepy if you operate machinery, or to avoid other medicines if you smoke.
• Diseases or conditions you may have. A medicine that helps one condition may make another one worse.
• Pregnancy or possible pregnancy. Pregnancy needs careful prescribing and decision-making between you and your doctor.
• Possible medicine and food interactions. The medicine's effect may be made stronger or weaker by other medicines, supplements you take, or foods you eat.

Knowing as much as you can about the medicines you take, or think you should take, is important. It's extra important if you're a member of a consumer-directed health plan like a medical savings account. These plans place more responsibility for health care decisions on your shoulders.

When deciding whether a medicine is right for you, be aware that any medicine can have side effects. Ads for medicines contain summaries of prescription information. These include warnings of possible interactions and side effects. TV ads usually provide toll-free numbers you can call for information, or they direct you to a print ad. The summaries for over-the-counter medicines are provided inside their packages.

In the past, you could find in-depth information about prescription medicines in books such as the Physician's Desk Reference (PDR). This huge reference book was updated every year and was available at larger bookstores, public libraries, and on the internet. It has the information that is on the package insert sent with the medicine to pharmacists. Reading and understanding this information may be hard. At www.pdr.net you can find an online version of the PDR (now called the Provider's Digital Reference). There are also many trusted consumer health websites that give information on medicines.

Pharmacists can help you understand any information that you need about your medicines.

If you believe you could benefit from a certain medicine that you have heard or read about, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. They may know if your current medicine is the best one for you, or they may know of another medicine that is better or less expensive to treat your condition or symptoms.

Many conditions need you to make changes in your lifestyle in addition to, or instead of, taking a medicine. For example, you may have to change your diet to try to lower your cholesterol before a medicine that lowers cholesterol is prescribed.

Make sure your insurance plan covers the medicine. If it doesn't, you may be able to get the medicine by paying part or all of the cost. Or another medicine the plan covers may be a good substitute.

If your doctor prescribes a medicine, find out what you need to do to get the best results. Ask your doctor what benefits you can expect from the medicine. Understand when and how you should take it. Find out about possible side effects and what to do about them. Many pharmacists provide computer printouts with general information about medicines. This includes when and how often to take them, whether to take them on a full or empty stomach, and other important information. Be sure to read the printout or other information even if you have been taking the same medicine before.

Talk with your doctor or pharmacist as soon as possible if you're not getting the results you expect or are having any type of unexpected side effects. Keep taking the medicine, though, until you can talk to your doctor and follow their advice about stopping or changing your medicines. Even if a new medicine is prescribed, you have to take it to know if it will work or have different side effects than the medicine you took before.

If you see more than one doctor (such as a family doctor and a heart specialist) and a new medicine is prescribed, be sure to let your other doctors know. If possible, it's also best to fill all of your prescriptions at the same pharmacy. Your pharmacist can watch new prescriptions and how they may interact with medicines you're already taking.

You can help yourself have your best health outcomes by being an educated and responsible patient and consumer.