Making the Complex Schedule Easier
Do you take multiple medications? For patients who take multiple medications with dosage schedules spread throughout the day, keeping this organized can be quite a feat. Let’s look at how you can make this more manageable so that you can ensure you are taking the correct medication at the correct time.
Carry a list of your medications
It is important to carry a full list of your medications if you cannot remember them. The dosage and schedule should be part of this list. Also include any vitamins or over-the-counter drugs. Many older adults take a daily aspirin. Be sure to have this on your list. This list is helpful at a doctor appointment to update your medical team. If you have a medical emergency and need to go to an urgent care or emergency room, the team can reference the list to administer proper medical care.
Use a single pharmacy
It is very important that you use a single pharmacy to fulfill all of your prescription medications. If you are going to multiple doctors, you should ensure each doctor has a record of medications that others on your medical team are prescribing. Your pharmacist will be an additional resource to ensure these medications are working together correctly. Pharmacists are well trained to understand drug interactions and side effects.
Managing the dosage schedule
Taking multiple medications can get complicated fast. Some medications are once a day, others are twice, some are even three or four times daily. Keeping this straight, making sure you are taking the correct pill, and remembering if you took it feels like a full time job! You can manage this with multiple pill boxes, a schedule where you can check off medications when you take them, and an alarm. There are lots of steps in this process and lots of room for human error. Some pharmacies are offering a service to make this easier and remove the burden for the patient.
Blister or bubble Packs are custom produced by the pharmacy for a patient. There will be a bubble for each time of day that a patient needs to take medication. If 3 medications need to be taken at 8am, there will be 6 pills in that bubble. Maybe a singular medication has a 10am dosage and then 4 pills at noon and so forth. The pharmacy prepares this for the patient so that there is less to organize at home. Then the only thing the patient needs to do is remember to punch the bubble out on the pack at the specific time a day. Setting an alarm can help with that reminder. This is a huge benefit to patients and makes the process of taking medication much easier.
If you are looking for a better way to manage multiple medications, College Park Pharmacy, Howard’s Pharmacy, Mooney’s Pharmacy, and P&S Pharmacy are local pharmacies here in East Tennessee who offer Bubble Packs and would love to help you. This is a free service offered to patients as our team believes it can keep patients safer with the dosage schedule spelled out. If you are interested in this service, please reach out to our pharmacy team. We strive to put patients first and help you improve your health. Please come by and see us.
