Just got out of the hospital...spent three days there with the most horrible headache, fever, N/V I've ever had (West Nile!!!). But that isn't the point...
I take Levoxyl 50 mcg, once daily. Levoxyl is supposed to be taken on an empty stomach...most people take it first thing in the morning, before breakfast. I work night shift and most of the time, I am either asleep (on days off) or do not have an empty stomach. I am pretty consistently awake and have an empty stomach at 4:00 in the afternoon, so I take the Levoxyl then. Three mornings in a row, at 6:00 AM I got woke up to a nurse trying to give me the Levoxyl...three mornings in a row, I refused it and told them I wanted it at 4:00 PM...I even got my doctor to specify the time on his orders, yet for some reason, the pharmacy kept putting 6:00 AM as the administration time. Before we went to computerized MARs, we were allowed to change times...I guess now, the computer assigns times and the med nurses are supposed to stick to those times. Also...the pharmacy picks up all D/Cd meds, meds of patients who were discharged, and meds that were refused at 3:00 PM...so every by 4:00 PM, my Levoxyl was back in the pharmacy and the pharmacy techs were mad because they had to "uncharge" me for the Levoxyl that I had refused...
So what do you do? Are patients allowed to take certain meds on their usual schedule? I know that there is no way that everyone can have everything according to their usual routine but I always thought things like seizure meds, psych meds, and thyroid supplements should be taken at the same time every day...
I ended up having my husband bring my Levoxyl from home so I could take it at the time I am used to taking it...my doctor was fine with that, but my coworkers were not so thrilled...even had a charge nurse come in and DEMAND that I give her my Levoxyl to lock up in the med drawer (we have med drawers outside each room)...not a problem since I have a key...
Also...what do you do about patients who want to take certain brands of meds? I wanted LEVOXYL...not Synthroid, not generic levothyroxine...I wanted LEVOXYL. My endocrinologist told me not to change brands so...
Where I work, we also have computerized MARS. When a patient normally takes a med at a certain time, then we give it then. We try to keep their schedule as routine as possible since everything else is messed up with it in the hospital. When ordering the meds, pharmacy automatically has a time pop up on the screen, but we are able to change the time to whatever is needed. It is nice. Maybe you could suggest that so future problems are avoided?!
Specializes in Tele, Home Health, MICU, CTICU, LTC.
We have computerized MARS but we are allowed to change times on meds as we see fit. They do come up with the usual times but we often have to change them. If we change them we send a form to pharmacy and they change it in the computer so it is the same everyday. We do try to accomodate patient requests for medication times.
The hospital I work at does allow patients to take their own meds. But...it must be ordered that way by the doctor, the patient must sign a release, and the meds all go to pharmacy to make sure they are the right meds in the right bottle.
Super_RN, BSN, RN
394 Posts
Where I work, we also have computerized MARS. When a patient normally takes a med at a certain time, then we give it then. We try to keep their schedule as routine as possible since everything else is messed up with it in the hospital. When ordering the meds, pharmacy automatically has a time pop up on the screen, but we are able to change the time to whatever is needed. It is nice. Maybe you could suggest that so future problems are avoided?!
Jaime