FA Making us fill home pill boxes.

[uberdialysisnurse]

I am a new nurse at a dialysis clinic, and my FA told us to pass out pill boxes for the patients home meds, and fill them each week. I don't feel comfortable with this, and I can't find a company policy about it. Does anyone else fill patient's pillboxes for home meds, in the hemodialysis clinic setting?

[Trekfan]

There was talk years ago about making a law to have all rx,s accseable to the blind \low vision but it never happened.

It can be a real problem sometimes, I like to mark the tops of the bottles with the first letter using rasied paint but if you more then one bottle with the same first letter it does not work . I have more then once grabbed the wrong bottle I took sleeping pills to work one day last week thinking they where zofran I found one when a co-worker asked for one .

[Julie Fulmer-Mason]

I am a pharmacist. Typically, big chain pharmacies will not fill pillboxes because they are too busy filling prescriptions all day. Some small independent pharmacies do offer this service in order to provide a level of customer service that the big chain pharmacies can not offer. I have worked for many years helping patients find ways to improve their medication adherence....and I truly believe that home pill boxes are valuable instruments to help patients organize their medications so they are not burdened by all their pill bottles multiple times per day. However, the basic plastic pill boxes have a number of drawbacks....mainly they can not remind you to take your medications and the patient still has difficulty communicating what they are taking if they do not take a medication list or all their bottles to every clinic visit. As a result, our company developed a device that focuses on all these problems....The MedFolio Pillbox stores medications into pillboxes, reminds users to take their medications by lights, audio sounds, and electronic messaging, and provides a communication tool to allow patients and their healthcare providers to know what they are taking. Very Recently, we launched a program in the San Francisco Bay Area, where we are sending licensed pharmacists into the homes of patients to install the MedFolio Pillbox and return monthly to fill their pillboxes for them. Our hope is that the MedFolio Cares Program will be successful in the Bay Area and that it can instituted in other cities and communities in the near future.

[Marisette, BSN, RN]

The Medfolio sounds like a great idea. I have not filled med. boxes in a dialysis facility, but have filled med. boxes for seniors who sometimes take up to 25 pills and it can very confusing.

[just keep swimming]

We are not allowed to do it due to liability and infection control issues. I even wanted to do it for a patient who is illiterate and does not qualify for home care, but was not allowed to. We do have some doctors who come in and do it for their patients occasionally. We do however hand out keychain med holders to hold binders for our patients so that it is easier for them to remember to bring them with them but they have to fill them on their own.

[Marisette, BSN, RN]

Med boxes are only helpful when patients take what is placed in them. I have found that some elderly, or confused, or disoriented and non compliant patients will pick and choose what pills they want from the medication box. I don't think this is safe because they are taking the medication based on size and color if not taking it from the medication vials.

[nlhrn]

NOOOO Way!!!!! Would refuse if was asked to,,that's what families are for and if no family,,VNA should be involved

[jeffmason]

I'm a Home Health Case Manager - most of our patient referrals are from hospital or SNF discharges and I fill many pill boxes. Most patients who are discharged have incorrect DC medication instructions written by doctors. It gets tricky because the doctors are clueless and really don't give a rats a$$. Therefore, it becomes a guessing game and puts the RN's license on the line each time they fill a pill box.