Synchronize a single monthly prescription pick up

Hey friends! How many trips to the pharmacy have you made this month? That many? Yeah, I remember burning up the road to the pharmacy and back. And sitting on hold forever either waiting for them to pick up the phone, or waiting for their computer to spit out the information I needed. How many hours of my life I wasted until I figured out this system:

1.     Transfer all of your cancer treatment-related drugs to your local cancer treatment office, where your doctor is and you go regularly for treatment. Your neighborhood pharmacy short-circuits when you send them prescriptions for heavy-hitting pain drugs and highly controlled meds. They don’t keep big supplies or a variety of doses on hand (if any), and if they do have it, it will take some time for them to open the safe when you arrive. They will likely have to special order your stuff, and there are always supply chain issues with special orders, even if you attempt to do it on a regular basis. So stick with an oncology pharmacy.

2.     Get to know your oncology pharmacist. Chances are there’s only one lead pharmacist at your oncology pharmacy, and maybe a few others if it’s a big place. Chat with them about the drugs you take on a regular basis. Ask if they regularly keep your drugs in stock, or if you need to shoot them a quick “heads up” email each month before your Rx pick-up to remind them to order your stuff before your prescription date rolls around.

3.     AND HERE’S THE IMPORTANT ONE: Get all your meds on the same monthly pick-up schedule so that you are just picking up prescriptions from your oncology pharmacy once each month, on the day of your doctor or chemo visits. This is actually easier than it sounds. On your next appointment with your doc, tell him or her what your goal is, to synchronize all your prescription pick-ups. If you have two meds, for example, that you are picking up two weeks apart, do this: Ask your doctor to write one of the prescriptions (just once) for a two week supply. Bingo! They will come due at the same time from then on!

4.     Just to assure the system works, I make myself a little note to shoot a quick email to my pharmacist and doctor a week before I arrive to pick up all my meds. That gives the pharmacist time to check his stock, and the doctor time to send in your prescriptions to the pharmacist. My meds are ready when I arrive. I meet with my doctor and confirm my meds for the month, get hooked up to my IV pole for chemo, then roll my pole into the pharmacy area. I pick up my 5 meds, and I’m done with prescriptions for the month! No muss, no fuss!

As you have undoubtedly figured out by now, cancer tasks eat up a humungous amount of your time. But you need that time for rest, healing, and living, not hassling with prescriptions! Does this take a few minutes, and an extra conversation with your doctor? Yes. Is it worth it? A thousand times yes!! Now, what are you going to do to celebrate how smart you are? Go to a movie? Go out to eat? Do something great for yourself with all your extra time and energy!

Happy Healing!

Holding you in the Light,

Deanna