Tips on organising your medicines

‘Your sugar level seems high. Did you miss any dose yesterday? Did you take your medication as prescribed?’ I asked.

After a long pause, he said he did take his medicines.

Well, a mom knows when her kids lie. We, pharmacists, know when someone lies about taking his or her medicines. How do we know? The pauses, the uneasiness while saying yes, giving different answers when we ask the same but rephrased question.

After scrutinizing his prescribed dose in his patient medication record, I rephrased the question. ‘You have two medications for diabetes right? One before the meal and one after the meal. Metformin, the one to be taken after the meal. Did you take it? At what time did you take it?’

‘Yes, I took it in the morning but I missed that at night. Too many pills lah. I have another cholesterol medicine to be taken at night,’ he confessed.

This is why organising your medications is so important. People are less likely to take their medicine when taking medicine feels like a daunting task. It does not have to be this way. Discuss with your pharmacist. Tell us if you miss your pill frequently. In fact, we appreciate patients who open up to us and get our help in organizing their medications.

Medication Schedule

In the early phase of my career, I was fortunate to meet a lady named Anna who faced trouble organising all the medication and supplements for her mother. I was inexperienced and did not know what I could do to help her. She was the one who asked whether I could help her in organizing her medication schedule. So we sat down, planned it out to avoid cramping all the pills in the morning. I learned a lot and she learned a lot. I learned how much a medication schedule or checklist helps in improving medication compliance. She learned why calcium tablets have to be taken after meals, why many cholesterol medications need to be taken at night and why certain hypertension tablets need to be taken in the morning.

Pillbox

Yes, the good ol’ pillbox. The pillbox is helpful when organizing medications for an elderly. Many elderly patients might get confused or even forget the time to take their medications. Many children appreciate the use of pillboxes in organizing multiple different medications for their parents.

Some patients tend to forget whether they have taken their medication. They will end up making a hard decision between taking another tablet or not taking another tablet. With a pillbox, an empty compartment is the best proof that the patient has taken the medicines.

Even I, as a pharmacist, experienced that.

‘OMG, did I take the pill just now?’

Do remember that not all medications are suitable to be placed in the pillbox. Some medications are meant to be taken immediately after removing from its blister package, especially those tablets which easily absorb the water in the air.