If you take several medications, nobody is looking at the whole list except us. A medication therapy management review is a pharmacist sitting down with you and going through every single thing you take.
What we look for
- Two medicines doing the same job
- Interactions between prescriptions, over-the-counter medicines and supplements
- Doses that no longer suit your age, weight or kidney function
- Medicines you were started on years ago and nobody has stopped
- A cheaper equivalent, where one exists
- Anything you have quietly stopped taking, and why
Who it helps most
People on five or more medications, anyone recently out of hospital, anyone seeing more than one specialist, and anyone who has had a fall, a new side effect or a change in how they feel.
What it costs
Many Medicare Part D plans cover an annual review at no charge, and some commercial plans do too. Where it is not covered, we will tell you before we start.
What happens afterwards
We write up what we found, send it to your prescriber where something needs their decision, and give you a copy. Nothing changes without your doctor’s agreement.
What happens in a review
A pharmacist sits down with everything you take — prescriptions, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins and supplements — and goes through it properly. It takes about twenty minutes.
- Interactions — two medicines that are each fine alone and a problem together.
- Duplication — the same drug under two names from two prescribers. Commoner than people expect.
- Doses that no longer fit. Kidney function changes with age, and some doses should change with it.
- Medicines nobody has stopped — started for a short-term problem and quietly become permanent.
- Cost — whether a cheaper equivalent exists that your prescriber would be happy with.
- Timing — which to take with food, which to keep apart, which are better at night.
Bring everything, including what is not prescribed
The gaps that matter most are usually the things people do not think to mention: supplements, over-the-counter painkillers, anything from a walk-in clinic or a dentist, and anything you were told to stop but did not.
“Natural” does not mean inert. St John’s wort interferes with a long list of prescription medicines; high-dose fish oil matters if you are on a blood thinner.
Easiest way to prepare: photograph the labels on your phone, or put everything in a bag and bring it. Nobody remembers strengths accurately, and guessing defeats the purpose.
If something should change
We talk to your prescriber. You do not have to carry the message, and nothing changes without their agreement — a pharmacist review is a second set of eyes, not a second opinion imposed on you.
It costs nothing
There is no charge, and you do not need an appointment, though calling ahead means a pharmacist can set the time aside. Find your pharmacy.