There’s been a wave of high-profile drugs tied to potential safety problems. First it was Vioxx. Then it was diabetes drug Avandia.  Doctors report a flood of calls from panicked patients – some of whom may be your employees.

Increasingly, benefits managers play a teaching role with employees. If a worker turns to you for information, you obviously can’t offer medical advice.

But you can point them in the right direction to get help. Here are three medication safety education keys from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists:

1. Don’t just stop medication

Regardless of what employees hear in news reports about the risks of a certain drug, it’s more dangerous to abruptly stop using it. For example, the risk of heart disease in a diabetic who simply quits taking Avandia is higher than the risk of heart attack from using the drug.

Instead, the employee should contact his or her doctor and ask, “What do you think my risk is at this time?” with the drug in question.

2. Create a drug worksheet

Doctors should never prescribe a drug or renew a prescription without full, up-to-date knowledge of all drugs the person takes regularly.

Drug worksheets can help workers develop safe, effective regimens with their doctors. Download a free template here.

3. Ask about alternatives

In many cases, there are alternatives that work nearly – or just – as well as the drug in question. These are usually older drugs (example: metformin may work for someone taking Avandia).  Two potential advantages:

• Safety. The older drugs have been studied more extensively to track their long-term safety effects.
• Cost. There are often generics available for the older meds, bringing down the cost.
  Experts recommend encouraging your employees to bring along a copy of the prescription formulary every time they go to the doctor. Reason: Formularies change, and the doc needs to stay in the loop on your employee’s benefits.