Help taking your medication

Remembering to take your medication

We know that it can be difficult to remember to take medications, but for certain medication it is important not to miss doses.

There are some simple things you can do to help:

  • Get into a routine for example taking your medications at the same time each day or linked with an activity you do every day such as having your breakfast.
  • Keep your medication somewhere to remind you – such as next to your toothbrush. Please keep your medications out of reach of children though.
  • Set an alarm or reminder on your phone – this works best if you just take one or two medicines each day
  • Use a phone app to help organise your medicine times. There are lots of apps available, here is a list compiled by our colleagues in Devon.
  • There are reminder services who can call you each time your medication is due to check you’ve taken them. These are private providers so there is a cost and are unable to recommend a particular provider.

Dosette boxes

Also known as pill organisers or medipacks, these are a simple way to organise medications usually by time of day and day of the week.

These simple organiser boxes can be purchased for a few pounds from pharmacies, supermarkets, and online.

Local pharmacies can also put your medication directly into blister packs for you, however this may have a cost associated so we advise discussing with your local pharmacy if they agree it is necessary.

Additional support

The NHS website has some good resources and tips on staying organised with medication especially for carers.

Medication reviews

Our in-house pharmacist team undertake a medication review for all patients once a year. Previously we would invite patients in to the surgery for these reviews however due to demand we unfortunately do not have capacity to do this. Instead we carry out the review internally and contact you if we have any queries.

You can request a medication review via an eConsult or by calling to arrange an appointment with our in-house pharmacist team.