Those of us who take more than one medication a day or serve as caregivers to someone who does know the tedium of gathering all the disparate pill bottles, pulling out pills and putting a week’s or a month’s worth into a pillbox.
PillPack is an online pharmacy with a mission to simplify the process of managing medications through convenient packaging, technology, and personalized service. For a set fee ($20/month + copays), PillPack will organize your meds into individual packs by date and time. They’ll ship them to your door every two weeks, and automatically manage your refills so you’ll never run out of anything. And, real pharmacists are available by phone or email 24/7.
PillPack’s system isn’t new, even if the company is. For years, long-term care facilities have been getting patient medicines in presorted packaging to ease the nurses’ job. PillPack’s CEO and co-founder T.J. Parker started PillPack when his father, owner of a long-term care pharmacy, was overwhelmed by friends and neighbors who heard about the convenient rolls of medication he was making for local medical facilities and asked him if he’d do it for them, too.
In Parker’s opinion, the whole point of the design is to make things as clear and easy as possible. Each packet is clearly printed with the medications inside. A label on the dispenser has images of the pill, with the name and instructions, so it’s easy to know exactly what you’re taking, and the date and time is printed on each pack.
PillPack is currently licensed to ship prescription medications to Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
As a physician or health care worker, what do you think of the PillPack system?