Take the worry out of refills, missed doses, and unused pills. Managing your medicine and prescriptions can be complicated. Try these tips to make managing your medications safer and easier.

Your health and your medicine

Doctors prescribe medication for many reasons. Some you take for a set amount of time, like antibiotics, when you get sick. Others, your body might count on regularly to stay healthy. Like, if you have a chronic condition like high blood pressure, diabetes, a thyroid disorder, or asthma.

It’s normal to forget to take medicine or run out before there’s time to get a refill. But many people don’t know how important it is to carefully follow the doctor’s orders when it comes to prescriptions.

If you miss a dose or don’t take your medicine, your care plan won’t be as effective. That means you might feel worse or put yourself at risk for a serious health complication.

3 ways to help you never run out of medicine

Getting to the pharmacy every time you need to get your prescriptions refilled can be a problem for a lot of people. There are ways you can avoid the hassle.

CHPW partners with pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts to give you access to a range of covered prescriptions, home delivery, and other online services.

Consider these options if you find yourself running out of medicine:

1. Order more.

With some medicines, like those used to treat chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes, you can get more than the regular 30-day supply when you refill your prescription. Ask your doctor or pharmacist at your next visit if you can get a 90-day supply for the drugs you take.

CHPW Apple Health covers 90-day supplies for most chronic medications, like high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, depression, and others.

2. Set up delivery.

Online pharmacies, like Costco Pharmacy, for example, offer home delivery. And some health plans cover the cost of this service.

CHPW Apple Health Members can get home delivery of their medications from some Community Health Centers, Costco, and other pharmacies.

3. Get reminders.

Automatic refill reminders are normally available with online pharmacy services. You can set this up with your online pharmacy or talk with your pharmacist about your options.

With automatic refills, you might not have to remember to restock your medication. But you will still have to remember to take it!

Read on for tips to stay on track:

• Lean on your daily routine. Do you do something every day? Safely store your medications wherever you do those things. Like, if you take medicine before you go to sleep, keep it next to where you sleep.
• Use your phone to remind you. Use your phone alarm to set reminders or use a free medicine reminder app like Everydose or Medisafe. These can be great for setting reminders, tracking how much medication you have, and watching your progress.
• Try a pill-organizer box. Lots of options and affordable. Once a week, organize your medications and have it ready for you when you’re busy. If you have kids, keep this hidden or get one that locks!
• Keep a list of your medicines. Keep an up-to-date list to take the stress out of remembering. Try this Medication List Guide to record your medicines and details about them. Here you can also keep track of your doctors, pharmacy, allergies, and immunizations.
• Get support to manage it all. Your doctor, pharmacist, health plan, and services in your community are all ready to help. If you are struggling to manage your medicine on your own, ask for help.

How to keep yourself and others safe

It is important to know which medications you have, what they are for, and when they expire. Here are a few things you can do to keep yourself and others around you safe.

Only keep what you need.

If you have expired medicines or some leftover that you don’t need, it’s a good idea to throw it out. There are free, safe ways you can get rid of it:

• Bring it to a drop-off site.
• Request free prepaid packaging and return it by mail.
• Take it to a take-back event.

Watch for recalled medication:

If your prescription is recalled, contact the provider who prescribed it to you right away. Do not continue to take the recalled medication. Check the latest drug recalls.

Understand your prescriptions:

Some medicines do not react well with other medicines or substances. Some medicines also cause side effects that may be expected or unexpected. It’s important to know the difference and communicate openly with your doctor and pharmacist.

Resources:

• Express Script Pharmacy – How it Works
• How to Safely Store and Throw Away Medications
• CHPW Apple Health Prescription Coverage

Are you a CHPW member and need help with renewing your Apple Health coverage? Call CHPW’s Renewal Team at 1 (866) 907-1904 (TTY: 711), 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.