You can help your GP and pharmacist by keeping your own records of the medicines you are taking. Telling your GP and pharmacist about the medicines you are taking will help them to give you the most appropriate advice and treatment. Before starting a new medicine you should tell your :

- GP about any non-prescription medicines you are taking including supplements and herbal medicines.

- Pharmacist about any prescription and or non-prescription medicines you are taking.

- GP, pharmacist or practice nurse immediately if you think one or more medicines you are taking is causing an unpleasant side effect.

Mixing medicines can occasionally reduce the effectiveness of a particular medicine, or may mean that you get too much of a particular ingredient.

CHIC has teamed up with the Doctor Patient Partnership to produce some medicine cards you can use to record your medicines. They are being distributed through pharmacists and GPs in March/April 2002. If you can't find the cards in your local surgery or pharmacy you can request one by calling the CHIC telephone line on 020 7404 7842.

As part of the campaign, CHIC and the DPP are also producing posters to let people know how they can go about seing copies of their medical notes kept buy GPs.

Your GP may show you your records or they may ask you to make a request in writing. You can expect to pay the following :

- £10 for a copy of fully computerised records

- No more than £50 for a copy of records held manually

- £10 to view records. It costs nothing to view records if they are held in manual form and have been added to in the last 40 days prior to your request.

The charges meet the time and administration costs incurred by the surgeries.

If you have any concerns about the medicines you are taking then talk to your pharmacist. All pharmacists have an extensive, in-depth knowledge of medicines and are well-placed to advise people on the safety and effectiveness of prescription and non-prescription medicines.

You can find more information about your medical records on the DPP website at www.dpp.org