Hi all, I have been reading this thread, and wanted to provide some input which might be helpful to some. I take a lot of medications for different ailments I have had for many years, one of which is T2 Diabetes.
I used to have a pretty sophisticated spreadsheet which I would use in conjunction with my pharmacy, but I found that keeping it accurate and up to date was difficult (especially version control) and time consuming.
As I have been with a Terry White Pharmacy for many years now, I now use their TWC App on my phone which allows uploading of both paper and escripts (in my experience, there will always be a percentage of the medical profession who will NEVER adopt escripts!).
After ironing out a few bugs in the TWC App, I now find it extremely valuable in recording my medications and how many repeats I have left, and when I need a new script, etc (depending on how you choose to sort the data).
Obviously I get that not everyone wants to or has access to a Terry White pharmacy, so my comments above are irrelevant to you. Prior to the TWC App, I did use MedAdvisor, but found it had a number of problems dealing with the number of medications I took.
I have a word document prepared, which summarises the different meds I need to take at different times of the day/night, and I find this invaluable to hand over to the medical reception, so I don't have to fill out the list of medication on the admission/appointment form. All of my usual "go to" doctors have this list on their medical file for me.
I have also downloaded this form onto my IPhone, in case I forget to take a form with me, and I always carry a spare in the car.
Finally, I have an IPhone and under Settings, there is an Icon called Health. Open that and you will see two relevant icons for you to input relevant personal data, being:
- Health Details - this is where you show your name and address, DOB, and importantly, Blood Type (this is important for me as mine is 0 negative); and
- Medical ID - here you can put your name and photo of yourself and age, whether you are an organ donor, etc. Then under that there are separate sections to record "medical conditions", "medical notes", "allergies and reactions" and then importantly Medication, which is where I have listed every medication I am on and the dosage and when during the day I take it, etc.
I treat this section of my IPhone as something that would be accessible by say a paramedic in the event I was in a serious accident or was unconscious etc.
I am assuming there is a similar setup for Android phones.
Hope the above is of some help to readers. Happy to respond to any questions.
Thanks Lindsay
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Lindsay
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Original Message:
Sent: 21-09-2024 09:42
From: Glen
Subject: Electronic Prescribing
I have found the only way to keep track of all prescriptions for both my wife and myself is through a set of spreadsheets I have developed over a period of time. With all the variations caused by different pack sizes, different scripts by GP and Specialists. Some scripts qualifying for 2 mnths supply, suggested temporary variations to dosages by GP or Specialists etc. plus the GP and specialists are not consistent when supplying scripts, mostly written and sometimes e-scripts I have found that any attempt by my GP or Pharmacists to accurately predict when our scripts and repeats are due, to be unworkable.
I would be happy to supply a set of the templates I have developed to anyone interested. I think I could make them fairly universal.
Glen
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Glen
Original Message:
Sent: 16-09-2024 04:03
From: Paul
Subject: Electronic Prescribing
No, thankyou. Between us my wife and I have a dozen or so monthly recurring prescriptions. My pharmacy and I have developed a routine of presenting them all together once a month for collection the next day. Works well for both of us.
The electronic system (which I haven't tried) sounds like I would be standing at the pharmacy counter for a considerable time while the counter person scanned a dozen tokens on two phones, thereby inconveniencing myself, the counter person and other customers queued behind me.
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Paul D
Original Message:
Sent: 14-09-2024 16:01
From: Diabetes Australia
Subject: Electronic Prescribing
Electronic prescriptions – a safe and convenient alternative to paper prescriptions
Have you heard of electronic prescriptions but are not sure how they work? It's simple!
Step 1. The next time you visit your doctor, ask for an electronic prescription instead of a paper prescription. Your doctor will send you a unique QR barcode known as a 'token' via SMS or email to your mobile phone or computer. You will get a separate token for each medicine you are prescribed.
Step 2. Visit the pharmacy of your choice and present your token. They will scan the token, provide you with the medicine and offer professional advice.
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Natasha, Ange and Erin
Membership and Community Team
community@diabetesaustralia.com.au
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