Taking your medicine as directed is important for maintaining your health.
Here are some helpful tips to keep your medicine filled and on schedule.
- Make daily habits and routines – Taking your medicine as part of your regular routine. For example, taking your medicine with breakfast every morning will help create a healthy habit that keeps you on track.
- Try pill organizers – Use a pill organizer to easily locate and plan which pills to take on what day and what time.
- Track refills – Keep a calendar of upcoming prescription refill dates so you can plan your refills. You can also order many medications in 90-day supplies from mail order pharmacies.
- Set reminders – Set your phone to alert you when it is time to take your medicine. Post notes around your home in areas you use most, like in the bathroom or on your nightstand. Set visual cues around your home, like placing a pill bottle on a table by a chair you use regularly. Ask about refill reminders from your pharmacist.
- Use one pharmacy – Fill all your prescriptions at the same pharmacy. By doing so your pharmacist will know what you are taking and if anything may cause interactions or side effects. Your pharmacist can also do what is called “medication synchronization”, in which they coordinate your refills so you can pick them all up on the same day.
- Try digital tools – Try digital tools from the web or mobile apps to keep track of all your medications.
Talk to your Doctor or Pharmacist
Whether you take medicine daily for a chronic condition or have a short-term prescription for an illness, medicine works best when it is taken as prescribed. Taking too much, missing a dose, or stopping your medicine because you are feeling better may cause problems with how the medicine works. If you are unsure when to stop taking your medication, you are having problems with side effects, you cannot afford the medication prescribed, or you have any other issues, talk to your pharmacist or doctor right away.
Ways to Save on your Medications
You may be able to reduce the costs of your medications with these options:
- Consider generics – Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about switching to a generic version of a brand-name prescription. Generics have the same active ingredients as the brand-name version of the medication and typically cost less.
- Consider a mail-order pharmacy – Mail-order pharmacies may provide benefits such as low copayments, 90-day supplies of medicines. Mail delivery also eliminates trips to the pharmacy.
- Look for a prescription discount program – These programs work directly with drug manufacturers to help keep costs down for patients.
