Medication Tips

4 Tips To Take Your Medication Right

When I talk about medication compliance with my students, I always ask them to raise their hands if they have taken an antibiotic within the past six months. Several hands always go up. Then I ask “How many of you still have some of those medications left because you didn’t take all of it?” There are always a few hands left up. When I ask why, the most common response is, “I got to feeling better and I forgot to take a dose. Then I just quit taking the rest because I didn’t think it would do me any good any longer.”

The Pharmacy Times states “Pharmacists can improve a patient’s medication adherence by dispensing information beyond a drug’s label.” (Read the entire article here.)

There are many physical conditions which can be greatly improved by taking medication correctly – heart failure, diabetes, and bacterial infections, to name just a few. This means taking the correct dose at the right time of day, without skipping a dose. And most patients taking these medications genuinely do want to get better; they just have a hard time remembering to take their dose. Pharmacists and technicians can help by addressing patient behavior. They might ask about daily habits, where the medications are kept and organized, and how to tell if a dose has been missed.

If you know you have trouble remembering to take your medication as scheduled, here are some suggestions:

• Use a pillbox. Some will hold a week’s worth of medications, while larger boxes will hold up to a month’s worth.
• Set a reminder alarm on your phone.
• Keep your medications out on a counter where you will see them, instead of tucked away in a cabinet. Just be sure to keep them out of reach of children!
• Link your habits – take your medication while your coffee is brewing, or right before your brush your teeth at bedtime. This makes taking your medication part of your daily routine.

Remember, your medication is an important part of your health care, but it won’t do you any good sitting in the bottle!