Voices From The Community | Spinal Cord Injury & Paralysis

Accuracy in Medication Management

Written by Sheri Denkensohn-Trott | Jun 28, 2023 1:00:00 PM

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.