MetroHealth’s Pharmacists Can Help
Contributed by Diana Gabelman, PharmD, Clinical Coordinator for Specialty Pharmacy
If you take prescription medications, it’s very important for your health to take them as prescribed. Even patients with the best of intentions can forget to take their medicines. That’s why the pharmacists at The MetroHealth System work with patients to make sure they don’t forget to take and refill their medications on time.
Tips for Taking Medications On Time
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), up to 30% of new prescriptions are never filled at the pharmacy and medication is not take as prescribed 50% of the time.
Taking medications are on time is important to feeling your best and prolonging your life. For example, patients with HIV can improve significantly on medication, with their virus becoming undetectable and un-transmittable in some cases.
Tips for Taking Medications On Time
- Take your medication at the same time every day.
- Make taking your medications part of a daily routine, like after brushing your teeth or eating breakfast.
- Use a pill container. Some types have sections for multiple doses at different times, such as morning, lunch, evening, and night. (MetroHealth offers free Compliant Dose Packaging, which sends medications to you in day and evening packs. See below for more info.)
- Purchase timer caps for your pill bottles and set them to go off when your next dose is due. Some pill boxes also have timer functions.
- When traveling, take enough of your medication, plus a few days extra, in case your return is delayed.
- If you’re flying, keep your medication in your carry-on bag in case your luggage is lost.
Ways MetroHealth Helps You Stay on Track
- Reminders – MetroHealth Pharmacy will email, text or call you to remind you when it’s time to fill your medication.
- Easy Refills – Order your medication refills with a few clicks through your MyChart account. They’ll be ready in about 24 hours for you to pick up at your nearest MetroHealth Retail Pharmacy location <link https://www.metrohealth.org/pharmacy> or through delivery.
- Home Delivery At No Additional Cost – MetroHealth Pharmacy will deliver medicines to your door step at no additional cost on the same day for most medications. We use a secure service called PHOX, and you can follow your medicine delivery’s progress online – just like you do for a ride share or food delivery service. For medications that need refrigeration, MetroHealth uses ClimaCell coolers that are 100% recyclable and biodegradable.
- Compliant Packaging – MetroHealth Pharmacy can sort and package your medications in individual packs that make it easy for you to take them at the right time and on the right day. It’s like having your pill sorter pre-filled for you! This is a service is at no additional cost.
Watch our robot in action at the MetroHealth Pharmacy Fulfillment Center filling packages in the video below.
Diana Gabelman, PharmD, Clinical Coordinator for Specialty Pharmacy at The MetroHealth System, encourages patients to take advantage of these free programs. “Our pharmacists are here to help you manage your treatment, make sure you know when to take it and how to take it and to not have to worry about costs,” Gabelman said. “We try to make it as easy as possible for our patients to take their medications.”
To have your prescriptions filled by The MetroHealth Pharmacy call 216-957-6337(MEDS)
or visit one of our 11 MetroHealth retail pharmacy locations.
Refills can also be requested by logging into your MyChart.
