A medication list is only useful if it is current. The FDA's advice is to review and update it often, keep a copy with you, and show it to your doctor or pharmacist. The hard part is the updating: a paper list is right on the day you write it and slowly goes wrong after that, as doses change and new prescriptions arrive.
This guide covers what the list should hold, how to keep it current on an iPhone, and how to get a printed copy when someone needs one.
What a medication list should hold
The FDA and MedlinePlus agree on the core of it. For every medicine, including over-the-counter medicines, vitamins and supplements:
| What to record | Where to find it | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Name of the medicine | The pharmacy label or the box | FDA, MedlinePlus |
| Strength | The label, usually as mg or another unit | FDA |
| What you take it for | Your prescriber, if the label does not say | FDA, MedlinePlus |
| How much, when and how | The directions on the label | FDA, MedlinePlus |
| Side effects you have noticed | Your own notes | MedlinePlus |
For the whole list, the FDA adds your allergies and emergency contacts. Two more things are worth writing down even though neither source asks for them: who prescribed each medicine, and which pharmacy fills it. Both come up as soon as something about a prescription needs sorting out.
Keeping the list current on your iPhone
The list goes out of date at predictable moments: a new prescription, a dose that changes, a medicine you stop, a course that ends. A list kept in the app you already use for reminders gets updated at those moments, because you have to change the reminder anyway.
Doz is a free download on the App Store: your list is the set of medicines Doz reminds you about, so when you change a dose or a time for the reminder, the list changes with it.
Medicines sit under the prescription they came from. The prescription card holds the doctor, the clinic, a contact number and what it was prescribed for, and each medicine has its dose, form, times and an optional note. When you stop one, archive it and it leaves your active list.
What Doz keeps for you, and where it stops:
| On your list | In Doz |
|---|---|
| Name, dose and form | Yes, for every medicine |
| When you take it | Yes: clock times or tied to a meal |
| What it is for | Yes, as the reason on the prescription card, or a note on the medicine |
| Who prescribed it | Yes, on the prescription card, with the clinic and a contact number |
| Pharmacy | No separate field. Put it in a note. |
| Allergies and emergency contacts | No. Keep them on the printed list. |
| How many are left | Yes, counted down as you log doses, with a low-stock warning in the app |
Doz has no account. Your list stays on your iPhone, with optional iCloud sync to your own private iCloud, which the developer cannot see. On iOS 26 or later it can also import the medicines you already keep in Apple Health.
Printing a copy for appointments
FDA and MedlinePlus both say to bring the list to appointments and go through it with your doctor or pharmacist. MedlinePlus suggests bringing the medicines themselves, in their bottles, too.
Doz does not print or export your list. For a paper copy, use the printable medication list maker. It runs in your browser, nothing you type leaves it, and it gives you a chart with your name, allergies, emergency contact and doctor, then a row per medicine with strength, dose, morning, midday, evening and bedtime columns, food, what it is for and who prescribed it. Copy the medicines across from Doz, print it, and keep one copy with your insurance card, which is where the FDA suggests keeping it.
Print a new copy whenever the list changes, and throw the old one away so nobody works from it.
Sharing it with a caregiver
The FDA suggests sharing the list with a relative, friend or caregiver you trust, especially someone who comes to appointments with you. Doz has no caregiver view and cannot share a list with another person, so the printed copy is the way to do it. If you help a parent with their medicines, helping an aging parent manage medications covers the rest of that job.
Medication list, tracker or reminder?
People search for all three, and they overlap. A list is what you take. A reminder tells you when. A tracker records what you actually took, and that record shows you how many doses were missed. Doz keeps all three in one place, so the list cannot fall behind the reminders.
If what you need is tracking refills and prescriptions, what a prescription tracker app should actually track goes into that. If the problem is many medicines at different times, see a medication reminder for multiple medications.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should be on a medication list?
For each medicine, including over-the-counter medicines and supplements: its name, strength, what you take it for, and how much you take, when and how. The FDA also recommends listing your allergies and emergency contacts. Who prescribed each medicine and which pharmacy fills it are useful to add.
Can Doz print or export my medication list?
No. Doz keeps the list on your iPhone and up to date, but it does not print, export or share it. For a paper copy, use the free printable medication list maker on this site and copy the medicines across.
Can I share my medication list with a family member in Doz?
No. Doz has no caregiver or family view and cannot share a list with another person. Print a copy with the printable medication list maker and give it to them.
How often should I update my medication list?
Whenever something changes: a new medicine, a different dose, a medicine you stop. The FDA says to review and update the list often.
Sources
- FDA: Create and Keep a Medication List for Your Health
- MedlinePlus: Keeping your medicines organized
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