New Year’s, a time for resolutions and healthy changes. 2017 was a fantastic year of growth for us in Coborn’s and in pharmacy. I am thankful for the opportunities I had to connect with patients in the pharmacy, friends in the community, and readers through this blog! As we roll into the new year, I thought I could offer up three helpful ideas for pharmacy related New Year’s Resolutions.

Clean out your medicine cabinet

I bet you’ll be surprised at the expiration dates on the back of some of those bottles! Taking expired medications is often ineffective and in some rare cases very dangerous. When in doubt, throw it out. But…don’t just throw it in the garbage. Check with your county offices to see if there are medication drop boxes to properly dispose of them. Otherwise, crush and/or dissolve tablets in a small amount of water then place them in a plastic bag (with coffee grounds or kitty litter) and put them in the garbage.

Update your personal medication list

If you take any medications but don’t carry a med list with you, you need to start. And if you haven’t updated your med list in a while, now is the time to get things current. Make sure your list has all of your current prescriptions, over-the-counter items, vitamins and supplements with the strengths and frequency you take them. Also include your immunization history and any allergies to medications you may have.

Take ownership of your medications

Every pharmacist has had a patient come up to the counter and ask them to refill their “little white pill”. If you don’t know what your medications are, what they are used for, or what your goals of therapy are…make an appointment to talk with one of our pharmacists. There is a lot of talk in the healthcare industry about “patient centered” approaches to treatment, that means the key to everything is YOU – the patient! We would be happy to help you understand everything you need to know about your medications.

With that I wish you all a Happy New Year and look forward to great things in 2018!

Jason Miller,
Pharmacy Clinical Program Mgr

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