# Retrieve a patient's medication list

You can use this API action to access a list of a patient’s prescribed medications, as documented by a specific organization. 

With this API action, you can retrieve information like medication type, dose, status, timing, frequency, quantity, and more.

> **Prerequisite: Having a patient identifier**
>
> To use this API action, you must know the patient identifier. If you don’t have one, [search for a patient with demographics](/fhir-api-actions/patients/search-for-a-patient-by-demographics) to locate an appropriate identifier first.

## Use cases

This API action may be a good fit for your organization if you perform any of these use cases:

- Track a patient’s current medications.
- Remind patients to take current medications at the appropriate time.

## Supported systems

You can use this API action with the Redox FHIR API.

Your connection's system can return results with their own FHIR or query-based API. 

## Things you need to know

<details>
<summary>Organization-specific</summary>

You can only search and receive data from one organization for one patient. If you want a comprehensive list for a patient from multiple organizations, you must perform this API action for every organization you’re interested in receiving data from. 

</details>

<details>
<summary>Which medication FHIR resource to use</summary>

The `MedicationRequest` resource contains a list of current prescribed medications, along with over-the-counter medications a patient reports they're taking at home. Over-the-counter medications have a different status than prescribed medications. What `MedicationRequest` _doesn’t_ contain: Any details about how much a patient has taken of what they were prescribed.

The `MedicationAdministration` resource contains what medications were given and details about how they were administered to a patient during an inpatient stay. 

The `MedicationStatement` resource is an older resource that may not be supported with newer versions of FHIR. If an EHR system does support it, you can use it to get a list of over-the-counter medications that the patient reports they're taking at home. The data may not be accurate or comprehensive since it depends on what the patient self-reports.

</details>

<details>
<summary>Data variation and availability</summary>

Real talk for a minute: More than any other data type, medication data tends to vary quite a bit across healthcare organizations. We do what we can to normalize these differences for you, but you may see that one healthcare organization provides more or less details than another. 

Our recommendation: Plan to be flexible with these differences and do extensive testing during implementation to verify that you don't have any issues with the varying levels of medication data. This applies whether you're using `MedicationRequest` or `MedicationAdministration`. 

</details>

<details>
<summary>Medication codes</summary>

Medications are typically represented in SNOMED or RxNorm codes.  

</details>

<details>
<summary>Provider comments</summary>

Providers often leave detailed comments in addition to the medication data points. This commentary may provide useful context about how the patient should take the medication or similar instructions. 

EHR systems may handle these free-text comments differently, so we recommend working with your connection to understand the location and availability of these comments. 

</details>

> **What's next? **
>
> Does this API action seem like a good fit for your unique workflow? Let your Technical Account Manager know! To start development, download the resource schema noted in the related action step. Then decide which data elements you need.
>
> If you’re new to Redox, [use the Quickstart guide](/quickstart-for-redox) to dive in. If you’re not engaged with our sales team yet, [talk to a Redoxer](https://redoxengine.com/forms/contact-us/) to get started.