Definition of Essential Medicines for Adults
The word "essential" is used to describe medicines for which there is a likelihood of harm to the patient if not taken. The triager should use their nursing judgment and critical thinking in deciding whether a medicine is essential.
Here are some examples of medicines that typically would be considered essential:
- Asthma (e.g., rescue inhalers)
- Blood pressure
- Cardiac
- Diabetes (e.g., pills, insulin)
- Seizure
Here are some examples of medicines that, depending on the clinical circumstances, could be considered essential:
- Antibiotics (e.g., early in treatment course, still symptomatic)
- Pain (e.g., severe pain, especially if the pain would otherwise require an ED visit)
All over-the-counter (OTC) medicines are considered non-essential. Here are some other examples of medications that would typically be considered non-essential:
- Birth control pills
- Cholesterol and lipid-lowering
- Constipation
- Emergency contraception (available OTC)
- Sleeping pills
- Topical (e.g., creams, ointments)
- Vitamins (available OTC)
