Back to School Preparations

Excited for back to school? A return to routine requires considerable preparation and a list is your best friend.  You have a list for school supplies, a list for lunch kits, a list of medications.   For those in the know, a pharmacy can cover much of your preparations. Nowadays it is even easier to contact your pharmacy. Web, mobile, and telephone will get to a team member to arrange to have prescriptions refilled. Many times your pharmacy can automate those refills taking one less item off your ever-growing list. What about the “just in case” medications? Does your child have life threatening allergies requiring an epinephrine auto injector? Do you have spare emergency rescue medications for school? Did you check the expiration dates of what you have? Here are some additional back-to-school preparation tips:   Tip #1:   Review when and how to use medications for your child. For devices such as epinephrine auto injectors or inhalers, review instructions and check expiration dates! Let the teacher know about your child’s emergency rescue medications.   Tip #2: Use your smartphone and consider taking pictures and storing information in a health tracking app for all family members. Remember to include:  

• Current medications & label information (your pharmacist can check for accuracy)
• Health services card
• Health / Medication / Dental billing cards
• Allergy information
• Emergency contact information
• Physician, dentist and pharmacy contact and address

  Tip #3: Clear out your medicine cabinet of any expired or short-dated products. Did you know that once a sealed product is opened, its expiry can shorten? Your PharmaChoice pharmacist can help you select common medicines to cover all family members’ needs at minimal cost. A streamlined medicine cabinet will reduce wastage and ensure that needed products are close at hand. Having a list of your medications with expiry dates posted at your medicine cupboard makes checking easier, adding a column of ‘date opened’ is a good idea. You can even bring your list to the pharmacy for a professional review!   Your pharmacist can assist with your back-to-school preparations.  In some cases, they can extend medications, or communicate with your doctor to get a refill.  Whatever your health care needs, enlist your PharmaChoice pharmacist for help.