Anyone using "PillPack" or similar for meds?

[agfsteve]

My mother-in law has Alzheimer's, so my wife is in charge of organizing and administering her meds, and it's challenging to try to keep up with it all (I think it's something like eight prescriptions for pills, two or three supplements, an inhaler, and a B-12 shot).

I just discovered a web site called PillPack, so I was wondering if anyone has used them and can share their experiences. Or, if anyone has used something similar, I would like to hear about that, also.

Also, if anyone has any general advice for this situation, that would be great.

We have a monthly pill organizer contraption, and it helps, but it doesn't guarantee that we'll get everything right.

Thanks in advance.

[Jobe]

My sister and I have been staying by my Mom who is 87 and has been dealing with depression. Medication is a big issue. Over the last two years the meds have been adjusted quite dramatically. I am thankful for in home nurses and doctors that can come to our home and monitor things. For us the meds have been very fluid and changing. Our local pharmacy has been great with this. So our experience has been we want to be hands on dispensing meds on a day to day basis and adjust as needed and instructed by our Doctor. Each persons well being can be quite dynamic. I wish it was as easy as a one stop shop. My experience. Do your best. Best wishes.

[Silly Moustache]

I used to share the task of giving my mother-in-law her meds which came grouped together in simple blister packs in a very similar way, so I think most chemists do this anyway if requested.

My chemist is a part of my GP practice, so I simply order my monthly supply online and they deliver to my door in 48 hours. No charge, and I've become friends with the guy who delivers - who I call my "drug dealer".

Amazon are trying to destroy about every small business in the country, have an appalling reputation for staff care, and avoid paying taxes in the UK. They are NOT a pharmacy/chemist and I would not trust them with providing me with meds.

While I was looking to see if they were trying this on in the UK, and found a "pill-popper" - plastic tweezers for bursting pills from blister packs, which looked interesting and cheap so I tried to buy it...impossible without getting into some sort of dodgy monthly scam.

Amazon are so difficult to do business with now due to their built in "prime" entrapments that I avoid them whenever possible.

[The Kid!]

I wouldn't trust that they're not going to make a mistake.

[agfsteve]

Thanks for the replies.

I am a bit reluctant to use Amazon (PillPack). I have Amazon Prime, but I'm hearing things about their dubious practices, so it makes me a little reluctant to use them.

I found out that CVS (in USA) has a similar service to PillPack, and CVS is our current pharmacy (so thanks, CVS, for keeping this a secret!) so I think I will look into their service.

[Bob Womack]

My wife is a Pharmacy Tech for a retail store-base pharmacy chain. She's been watching these services and the mail-order pharmacies as well because she and I have some maintenance meds. Here's what she's discovered: these services are great if your meds don't change. However, if there's any adjustment to a prescription or you have a regularly adjusted medicine, the whole program gets thrown out of whack for a month or more and becomes a nightmare. The local pharmacy staff inevitably end up being the ones who have to sort out the nightmare of dispensing and billing and in doing so encounter the aggravated customers.

In other words, it works fine until it doesn't, then it goes really sour, really quickly. Sorry to bear bad news.

Bob