larkspur Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 I recently discovered Pill Pack. I haven't used them, just stalked their website, but I am thinking of switching when/if my med dosages are stabilized. https://www.pillpack.com/ This is an online pharmacy that dispenses your medications as you should take them. You tell them what medications you take at what times, and each packet will come filled with all the medications you take at that time. So, for example, say that you take morning medications at 8am, lunchtime meds at noon, evening meds at 6pm, and bedtime meds at 10pm. You would receive your meds in 4 packets for that day, labeled with the time to take them and what pills are in that packet. You get your meds two weeks at a time, and they accept insurance. They will also do vitamins in your pill pack. When I heard about this, I thought immediately of some of our CB members with large medication cocktails for mental and physical health problems. Filling a pill box is a pain in the ass and it's easy to forget if you've already taken your meds. I hope this helps somebody...it looks really cool, and I hope to become a customer in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iaawal Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 It does look really cool! Thanks for posting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tryp Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Does your local pharmacy not do that? Here, any pharmacy will blister pack your medications for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiaB Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Does your local pharmacy not do that? Here, any pharmacy will blister pack your medications for you. Our big chain pharmacies will blister pack meds for you too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Unfortunately, this doesn't generally happen in the USA. I'm not saying that no pharmacy will do it because obviously I can't know that, but no pharmacy that I've dealt with in the US has ever done it. Also, the wait time as it is to get your pills counted out is at least 30 min. and if they packed them for you, I can imagine it would be hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larkspur Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Unfortunately, this doesn't generally happen in the USA. I'm not saying that no pharmacy will do it because obviously I can't know that, but no pharmacy that I've dealt with in the US has ever done it. Also, the wait time as it is to get your pills counted out is at least 30 min. and if they packed them for you, I can imagine it would be hours. This has been my experience as well. Just checked with my local Walgreens and they said no way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tryp Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Weird. Here (Canada) all the pharmacies do it, and I'm pretty sure it's free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Almost every pharmacy I've used does blister packs for free, they give you a two week supply, and they'll deliver for free. I'm in Canada as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CirclesOfConfusion Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Before this thread, I'd never heard of any pharmacy blister packing meds for customers. I'm in the US and have used pharmacies in different states in very different parts of the country. Like JT's experience, I've also regularly had to wait 20-60 minutes just for 30 pills to be counted into a bottle. I've also experienced so many errors in filling my orders that the idea of asking for anything that adds complexity is the last thing that would occur to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 I wait about 15-20 minutes for all my meds in a bottle. Generally with blister packing here, they do it for the next day, but sometimes they do it fast. I'm really surprised that isn't a "thing" in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 I'm really surprised that isn't a "thing" in the US. Welcome to the USA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allisen.stp Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 I know of at least one pharmacy that does the blisterpacking it (the one attached to my GP's office). Don't think the one next door to where I work does which is where I tend to get my meds. I feel like this website would be hugely subject to prescription fraud though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larkspur Posted May 23, 2015 Author Share Posted May 23, 2015 I know of at least one pharmacy that does the blisterpacking it (the one attached to my GP's office). Don't think the one next door to where I work does which is where I tend to get my meds. I feel like this website would be hugely subject to prescription fraud though. I don't see any reason why this online pharmacy would be more prone to prescription fraud than any of the mail-order pharmacies run by every major PBM in the country. These guys are super smart and their business model is brilliant. If you're curious about background, this is a great article: http://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhedgecock/2015/04/15/this-pharmacy-startup-wants-to-change-the-way-you-take-your-medicine/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Unfortunately, this doesn't generally happen in the USA. I'm not saying that no pharmacy will do it because obviously I can't know that, but no pharmacy that I've dealt with in the US has ever done it. Also, the wait time as it is to get your pills counted out is at least 30 min. and if they packed them for you, I can imagine it would be hours. This has been my experience as well. Just checked with my local Walgreens and they said no way. My experience also, except some of my meds already come blister-packed from the manufacturer (not sure though if 'blister pack' has the same meaning as you mean), and they give me them as-is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooster Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 It really is a thing in the US, just not as common and you may have to ask for it at a larger chain or get it done via mail order. ALL the kids at summer camp that I worked at have to have ALL their meds blister packed. This is because most of the kids there are on some kind of meds. This was also the case for the boys in long term residential treatment. The local pharmacy would blister pack their meds where possible. It makes med dispensing SO much easier when you just have to double check the bubble and make sure there's the right number and kind of meds in them instead of wrangling with several pill bottles for each kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wj74 Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Before this thread, I'd never heard of any pharmacy blister packing meds for customers. I'm in the US and have used pharmacies in different states in very different parts of the country. Like JT's experience, I've also regularly had to wait 20-60 minutes just for 30 pills to be counted into a bottle. I've also experienced so many errors in filling my orders that the idea of asking for anything that adds complexity is the last thing that would occur to me. This ^^^. I'm not sure I would trust them to get it right. As it is, I have to go to the pharmacy a few times a week to pick up/drop off the family's meds, and there is sometimes a wait and they have to order things. The blister pack thing would take hours., and probably a hefty fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 I think it's an awesome idea. I am seriously thinking of switching to it. I went to the pharmacy three times this week. I needed meds and my insurance only lets them be refilled x days before the bottle is empty (Twice to Walgreens and once to CVS because they stock Parnate and Walgreens would have to order it in). That x seems to vary by medication. I get tired of waiting in line or the drive thru or remembering which med needs to be ordered with extra time so they can contact my doctor. I just started using pill boxes. They're a pain. It's also the only way to know if I missed a dose, and I'm pretty sure I did recently. The only downside to it is UPS can't/won't leave a box at my door (not the best neighborhood). I would have to go to the central pick up place twice a month. That might be tolerable if I could get all my meds at once. I like that it's only 2 weeks of meds at a time, makes it easy to handle dose changes. Definitely tempted. I passed the link on to someone else I know who takes a plethora of meds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CirclesOfConfusion Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 It really is a thing in the US, just not as common and you may have to ask for it at a larger chain or get it done via mail order. ALL the kids at summer camp that I worked at have to have ALL their meds blister packed. This is because most of the kids there are on some kind of meds. This was also the case for the boys in long term residential treatment. The local pharmacy would blister pack their meds where possible. It makes med dispensing SO much easier when you just have to double check the bubble and make sure there's the right number and kind of meds in them instead of wrangling with several pill bottles for each kid. Oh man, I wish the kids I was supervising in a summer boarding program (a few years ago) were required to bring their meds in that format! I was one of the two supervisors responsible for holding and supervising access to their prescription pill bottles. About half of any given multi-week group had something or another, not all were psych meds though. (allergies, juvenile arthritis, etc.) It would have been so much easier, and less chance for human errors by both them and us, with the blister pack format. I totally agree that it would be much easier to double check that each of them got the right amount of the right thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonderful.Cheese Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 I get monitored weekly meds now. I used to get daily. I'm in the U.S. And this does happen here. They come in not packs like that but weekly disposable pill "boxes" that have a slot for AM, Noon, PM, Bedtime. So 4 slots. That's how I pick mine up every week. Hey also deliver for those who cannot get there for whatever reason. You have to be a patient of the county system though with a severe MI and unable to take your meds properly. It's one thing that keeps me out of the hospital. We do get charged for it but we only pay $X a month for all services. (Therapy, pdoc, weekly monitored meds, case management, etc.) sliding scale clinic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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