Another tip for medication in the hospital

Submitted by: Carol Chaltron
Category: Hospitals

I posted similar info under medications, but there is a lot on this topic under hospitals. And rightly so because the error rate for medication use in some hospitals is frightening. Like another poster in the medications section, I recommend epill.com and forgettingthepill.com which both have a large selection of timers with different features, # of alarms etc. Something I recommend using with a timer is a service from a company called AccuPax (accupax.com). They package each dose of your medication in it's own clear plastic packet, labeled with the date and time to take it, along with full info on the patient and the medications contained in the packet. All of the meds you need to take for that time are in one packet. They deliver a 30 day supply to your home each month. It is such a relief not to have to sort out all those pills every week, and I don't have to worry that I made a mistake. It's also great for travel or hospital stays because the packets come on a roll and you tear off the ones you need and take them with you. You don't have to drag bottles or plastic pill sorter boxes with you. If you do take them to the hospital, all the info (drug name, dose, even a visual description of each pill) is printed on each packet. They also send you more detailed info on each drug on an 8”x11” print-out (the type of info a local pharmacy usually staples to the bag they put your pills in.) The people at the hospital tend to really like this system, because they can be sure they know what you're taking, as opposed to a pill sorter box, where once the pills are out of the bottle, there's no way to know for certain what's in each little compartment of your box. Even if you label the sections carefully, most of the pills are not marked and sometimes (I think it's mostly with generic) they can come in many different sizes, shapes & colors for the same pill.

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