Pillbox might help in medication adherence, but there are always other associated costs bound by the patients ie: travel costs, and time constraints. A study on cost-utility is needed from the perspective of patients/clients.
As regards the privacy reasons, it might help for the patient not to disclose her/his status, but does it sounds like stigma still here? I mean why does PLHIV wants to 'hide' what medication they are taking unless the stigma isn't it?
Otherwise, the Parkinson's and intentional overdose can be overcome by Home Medication Review services.
thus far, my personal opinion is further research to evaluate the:
1. Cost-utility
2. Clinical outcomes
3. Stigma reduction (psychological aspect)
are three main pillars to inform which service is better and towards evidence-based practice.
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Akbar Jaya, BPharm (Hons)
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-03-2022 18:20
From: Caitlin Prather
Subject: Filling pill boxes for patients?
Does anyone offer a service at your clinic to fill pill boxes for patients? We've received several requests for this and I have heard of it being done at other sites. I am a little concerned about the legality of it all though and making sure everything is done to best practice standards.
The idea is that we have some patients who want us to store their medications for them and fill a pill box every 1-2 weeks for them to take home. For some this is for privacy reasons (so they don't have to keep their ART bottles in the home), for others it's for medical reasons such as severe Parkinsons or risk of intentional overdose.
Is anyone doing this? What are your best practices that you follow to keep the patient's safe and yourself safe from a liability standpoint?
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Caitlin Prather, PharmD, BCACP, AAHIVP, TTS
Clinical Pharmacist in Fairfax, VA
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