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A new 2014 goal has been added to my list: better organization. I have been a bad, bad girl. The life of a special needs child creates a mountain of paperwork, procedures, medications and specialists. It also takes a lot of organization. Lots and LOTS of organization. This last year, I am not sure what happened but I lost control of things and for the first time in years- we've missed appointments (like- no call, no shows) and have had to reschedule because of my not keeping better track of appointments. It was terrible. I work in the medical field and I know better. However, thankfully, all of her providers have been involved in her care since day one (or close to it!) so they know this isn't typical behavior from us. What brought this really to the forefront? We use our Walgreens and their refill reminders service. I received my text messages asking me if I wanted to refill Emma's prescriptions and I replied to confirm yes. (I seriously LOVE this service!)
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| Add appointments in December |
I received a text stating her refill wasn't yet ready. Okay, no big deal. She's on two seizure medications (Topamax and Carbatrol) and sometimes, one or both have to be ordered and it only takes a day or two. No worries, the refill reminders are usually sent about a week before your prescription is due to run out, so she had plenty of medication left. Well. I get another one and another one and another one. Pooh.
I decided to swing by the pharmacy and see what the hold up was (I needed to run in to grab something from the pharmacy anyways). Apparently, Emma is out of refills on both medications and her neurologist's office only gave the okay to refill her Carbatrol (that controls her "Tonic Clonic" or AKA "Grand Mal" seizures). At first I was perplexed but then... I facepalmed. I just happened to say that it's probably because she needs her new EEG done before they will talk about tinkering with the Topamax dose. She was due for the EEG in October but I was never called. Emma had an appointment in December with the Pediatric Screening Clinic and I swung by the neurology office and asked where the order was sent so I could call them. I left a couple of messages but never got a call back. Her neurologist wanted the results of the EEG and her liver functions, blood levels, etc. prior to deciding how we will proceed (increasing or decreasing the dosages). When I told the pharmacy tech about that and that must be what was going on, he said if it comes down to it, talk to the pharmacist and we can probably get an okay to get a few weeks of medications for her until she can get the approval for more since these are maintenance medications that are needed.
I was blown away! All these years of using Walgreens, I never knew they could do that. Granted, she's never missed an appointment nor has she run out of refills. I just think that was nice to know! I also didn't know that you could chat with a pharmacists on their website via Pharmacy Chat! Heh. The things you learn!
It worked out in the end! I picked up her Carbatrol and some Walgreens brand ear wax remover (the house brand version of Debrox) per the pediatric Nurse Practitioner. I did get a text yesterday that her Topamax was ready (I left a voicemail for the neurologist's office that I needed another refill and to please fax her order for the EEG to the Children's Hospital because the other hospital wasn't calling me back. Her neurologist has always been very responsive on her needs, so I knew there was a good reason that there was a hold up and it was also partially my fault for not following through).
One thing that is very cool is that Walgreens has an app. Yeeeahhhh... there's an app for that! Haha. I had to! However, seriously, they have an app and I never knew it before this past week! I am so glad I know about it now, though!
This app is fantastic! You can set up your medication schedule and you can order your refill via scanning the bar code OR you can enter your RX number. It's brilliant! I also love the various other uses, too. Create a shopping list, clip coupons, order photos, etc. It's an all in one app for Walgreens! I'm a fan! I know I will definitely utilize it. I could have used it when Emma had her tonsils and adenoids removed in April. I had to set an alarm every four hours for the Lortab, giving her ice packs, pushing water and taking her regular prescriptions! Ugh!
Have you used any of Walgreens' services?
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| 2004 |
In 2004, my daughter, Emma, suffered a very serious head injury due to being shaken and slammed. Parts of her right frontal and right parietal lobes of her brain had to be removed just to save her life. She also suffered a stroke and a diffuse traumatic brain injury. She was in a coma for three weeks and spent a total of two months in the hospital (four weeks in the Pediatric ICU and four weeks in neurological rehabilitation). It's been over nine years since her initial brain trauma but the long term effects and new diagnoses are still going on through our lives. I recommend (highly recommend it) reading through my various posts concerning her brain injury and the after effects of what child abuse has done to both of our lives. You can read more here.
I'm so sorry to read about your doctor. I'm sure organizing everything for her can be really difficult. Looks like Walgreens has a lot of things to help out. That's awesome. I have used them a lot in the past, and I know some of the pharmacists are quite helpful.
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Hi dear,
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Kisses, Ana
http://xoxocitygirl.blogspot.pt
I'm terrible at organization, so kudos for keeping up with everything as well as you do! And doctors that don't call me with appointment reminders drive me crazy! I'm so used to getting that reminder call that I forget to look at the calender and actually missed an appointment in December. And yea for Walgreens and their awesome service! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing service Walgreens offers in taking care of special needs families by bridging that gap between new prescriptions. That's such a relief Emma was able to get her needed prescriptions on time. #client
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