What tools are available to help me and my loved ones manage our prescription medications?

Welcome to “A Virtual Q&A with Shoppers Drug Mart Pharmacists”! Join our pharmacists as they answer your questions on various health and medication topics.

What tools are available to help me and my loved ones manage our prescription medications?

If you’re not taking your medication at the time, dose, and frequency prescribed, it is called medication nonadherence. This can have a short term and long-term effect on your health. Reasons for nonadherence or compliance could cause side effects of feeling better, or forgetting to take your medication. If you stop taking medication for chronic diseases such as diabetes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure, you can cause your condition to progress or even get worse, or it might lead to organ damage. Before stopping your medication, talk to your pharmacist or doctor about what is best for you. Your pharmacist can help resolve many medication adherence issues. They can help educate patients about online, apps to set up medication reminders, or auto-refills, or deal with side effects. They can also switch you to alternative medications and follow up with drug or insurance companies to get the drug covered completely or partially for you.

Shoppers Drug Mart Pharmacists have lots of tools to help with medication management. One of these tools is compliance packaging. With increased age and multiple medications, patients may require tools to help manage their medications safely and conveniently. The medication organizer program at Shoppers Drug Mart can positively impact a patient's ability to manage medication and help them reach their health-related goals. With compliance packaging, you will never miss a dose. No need for patient or caregiver to spend time organizing medication vials or dosettes. With associated potential for errors, all medications are kept together in one place, can include RX and nonRX medication in addition to many other benefits. Another tool is medication review. The provincial government has begun to unlock pharmacists’ expertise as a solution for health systems sustainability. One of the most important services pharmacists provide is medication review.

Pharmacists at Shoppers Drug Mart can provide a review and an assessment of your prescription medication, as well as non-prescription, vitamin and natural health products to help ensure they are contributing to your optimal health. A medication review is an individualized meeting between a patient and a pharmacist that includes talking about medications, review how medications are best taken, discuss what each medication is for, highlight common side effects and help minimize them. It identifies and addresses problems related to specific medications.

Another tool is medication review. The provincial government has begun to unlock pharmacists’ expertise as a solution for health systems sustainability. One of the most important services pharmacists provide is medication review. Pharmacists at Shoppers Drug Mart can provide a review and an assessment of your prescription, as well as non-prescription, vitamin and natural health products to help ensure they are contributing to your optimal health. A medication review is an individualized meeting between a patient and a pharmacist that includes talking about medications, review how medications are best taken, discuss what each medication is for, highlight common side effects and help minimize them, and identify and address problems related to specific medications.

The traditional role of a pharmacist is rapidly evolving. Pharmacists have skills and expertise which enable them to assume new roles with a focus on patient care. Pharmacists can prescribe now for minor things that do not require a physical assessment by a physician. With this expanded scope of practice, patients have more improved access to medications, optimization of medication management, reducing unnecessary emergency room visits and hospitalization, reducing wait time at clinics, and easing the burden on family doctors. Across Canada, the scope of what pharmacists can and can’t do depends on where you live. Certain provinces can prescribe only for minor alignments such as cold sores and acne, others for birth control and bladder infection. Within Alberta, pharmacists can prescribe antibiotics too. Pharmacists work collaboratively with physician colleagues to provide best patient care.

Whether you have questions about your prescription medications, over-the-counter products, immunizations, or other health concerns, our pharmacists are here to help.

The information provided is for personal use, reference and education only and is not intended to be a substitute for a physician’s advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult your healthcare professional for specific information on personal health matters.

This information included in this recording is correct as of July 03, 2020.