Accuracy in Medication Management
For nearly 40 years as a quadriplegic, I have relied on my caregivers to manage my medications. Under my guidance, they would fill a two-week pillbox with medications for morning and night. Initially, this worked well, but with added medications (some taken more than twice a day) and changing caregivers this got more complicated. And more serious - missing a dose could have uncomfortable or even dangerous health effects. After multiple incidents of running out of a particular medication and scrambling for renewal, it was clear that I needed to find a reliable solution that did not require my constant oversight.
Enter the prepackaged pill suppliers. These companies furnish pre-measured amounts of your required medications. The shipments arrive at regular intervals, each containing perforated small packs of medications, split by date and time. This was a wonderful find for me; medications that appeared at my door solved transportation problems. Also, I could easily take the appropriate pill packs with me when I was away from home when a dose was due. Most importantly, dosages and their arrival were accurate and reliable.
I started with Simple Dose by CVS. When that service was discontinued, I moved to Pill Pack, an offshoot of Amazon. There are other choices, too, each with their pros and cons. I am by no means endorsing a specific service, and you should check to make sure your service is operable before starting the process. Please see this article for a description of some of the most commonly used services.
Overall, I have been very pleased with using prepackaged medication delivery services. Be patient, though; there is a little bit of a “heavy lift” getting the process started.
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- Begin by calling the company. Have your list of medications at hand, including dosage and frequency, along with the contact information for your doctor(s).
- The vendor provides a pharmacist who guides you through the setup process and after. They contact your doctors, let you know what medication will be filled, timing for deliveries, the estimated cost (my overall cost is actually less than the estimate!) and answer any other questions you may have. The individuals I have worked with are patient and helpful.
- Medication cycles can mean tricky startup. For example, most of my medications are scheduled as a 90-day supply but the pill services deliver monthly. Insurance reimbursement didn’t jive with the 30-day service schedule. For me, it took three months until all my medications were eligible for reimbursement in the 30-day refill schedules. During this time, it is important to pay close attention to what you are receiving so you know what to fill from your existing supply.
- During this interim timeframe, do not accept any medication from your regular pharmacy. If your doctor inadvertently calls in a medication to the pharmacy and/or the pharmacy fills a medication, tell the pharmacy to return it to stock and immediately remind your doctor that you are using a new prepackaged system (and provide the phone number again). When I didn’t have enough medication to last until arrival of the box, Pill Pack sent me a bridge supply overnight.
- I have an online portal and get helpful text messages and notifications of updates, including when to expect the next box. If there are any questions or a prescription is needed from a doctor, I get a phone call with enough time to make sure paperwork is in place.
Again, the transition to a prepackaged pill service can be a little time consuming. But don’t give up. Today, my full boxes arrive like clockwork. I am thrilled with this systemic approach, and relieved to know that my medications will be there for me, on time and in the right amounts, when I need them.