Tips & Tools For Managing Your Medications At Home

Managing medications at home can become increasingly complex. Let’s talk about dosage administration aids and how you can start using them.

© Danielle Robertson Consulting Pty Ltd t/as DR Care Solutions

Without doubt, the invention of dosage administration aids has given many senior Australians the choice of living in their own home rather than a nursing home.

It may come as news to many of my readers that it was an Australian – the pharmacist and inventor Gerard Stevens AM – who introduced the world’s first multi-dose Webster-pak^® medication pack ­40 years ago^[1].

Now with more than 70 patents, the family-owned Australian business continues to expand its offering of innovative solutions to medication management.

What is a dosage administration aid?

It is a well-sealed, tamper-proof device that packages your medicine in accordance with your prescribed dose schedule. It may take the form of a blister pack or sachet.

For example, the Webster-pak^® clearly arranges medicines for the week, with seven rows to represent seven days, and four columns for each dosage time of the day (breakfast, lunch, dinner, bedtime). 

Australian studies show that the use of such aids have reduced medication purchases by 26%, medication costs by 4% and medication errors by 8%.^[2]

Do you need it?

You are likely to benefit from using a dosage administration aid if any of the following factors^[3] exist:

• You take five or more medicines daily, including complementary and non-prescription medicines, or you have a complex regime of medicine taking.

• You have a medical history suggesting you have problems managing your medicines, e.g. prior hospitalisation as a result of your medication management or lack of.

• You have difficulty remembering if you have taken your medicines.

• A carer or family member is monitoring your medication taking.

How do you obtain it?

Speak with your pharmacist about having your medications organised in a blister pack or sachet. Be prepared by presenting your pharmacist with:

• A current list of your medications (prescription, non-prescription and complementary ie: supplements) signed and dated by your GP, or collate your own list and your pharmacist will contact your GP to request your Medication Profile;

• Your actual paper-based prescriptions;

• Any medications you have already purchased (so that they may be included in your new blister packaging);

• Your Medicare Card and Pensioner/Concession Card; and

• Your GP’s contact details.

Your pharmacist will review all your medications. If they believe you will benefit from medication management packaging they will run through the process of how they will proceed. Usually, the packaging is for seven days of medication commencing on a Monday, with pick up of the pack on the Thursday or Friday of the week before. Some pharmacies will even deliver the packs to customers.

There are a number of packaging brands available through pharmacies. Our brand of choice is the Webster-pak^®[4]. We have been recommending this Australian award-winning solution to our in-home care clients since we commenced in business in 2015.

The cost

Pensioners and concession card holders may receive the weekly packaging service free of charge or at a reduced price. A quick survey of pharmacy websites shows that some pharmacists may charge a weekly fee of anywhere between $4 to $10 for the time taken to pack the medications.

Need help caring for a loved one? Please feel free to call me, Danielle Robertson, at any time for an initial discussion on how to set up the right care, support and assistance at the right time and in the right place.

Resources

^[1] Webster-pak^® 
[2] The Pharmacy Guild of Australia: Community Pharmacy Roadmap Program Development Template
^[3] Australian Department of Health and Aged Care: Medication Management In The Community
^[4] Webster Care website