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Using the Health-Minder Prescriptions Window
Health-Minder makes a distinction between your Medications history and your Prescriptions history. The MEDICATIONS WINDOW is a record of all the medicines you have taken by name (for example, Penicillin, Synthroid, Diabinase, or Prozac are medicine names). For each of these medicines, you may be given any number of prescriptions. Why are there two Health-Minder windows, one for medicines and one for prescriptions? Because sometimes prescriptions for the same medicine may be given to you by different doctors for different illnesses at different times of your life. Or a problem may recur, and a medicine found effective during a prior bout with the illness may be prescribed again. Prescriptions may be re-filled (when you need more of the medicine, but you are still using the same prescription number); or they may be renewed (when a new prescription number is assigned, but the medicine and diagnosis and doctor remain the same). Note, too, that each prescription has a cost and perhaps may be partially or fully covered by insurance. Thus, when you are given a prescription for a new medicine by your doctor, you need to enter information in two windows: first, MEDICATIONS and then PRESCRIPTIONS.
If you want Health-Minder to tell you when your next refill is due, enter the "Quantity per Refill" amount and press the COMPUTE button. "Quantity per Refill" is the number of tablets medicine that come in each refill; it could also be the number of ounces of liquid medicine if the dosage is given in ounces.. For example,
if you take 1 tablet each time you take the medicine, and there are 30 tablets in the bottle, then "Quantity per Refill" is 30.
if you take 2 tablets each time and there are 30 tablets in the bottle, then the "Quantity per Refill" amount is still 30.
if you take 2 ounces of liquid each time, and the bottle holds 24 ounces, the Quantity per Refill is 24.
Health-Minder will look at the date of the refill, the "Quantity Per Refill", and the frequency of dosage (how many per hour, day, week, or month); all this information is used to compute when you will next need a refill. To print a list of these, press the button SHOPPING LIST. You may enter starting and ending dates for this list, but if you don't, Health-Minder will print a list starting "yesterday" and ending up to a year from "today". Print one for each family member before you call or go to the pharmacy.
Use the Notepad button to enter a description of the medicine. Say if it is in liquid, tablet, or capsule form. State the size, shape, and color of tablets or capsules. When you must go to a hospital, or if someone else must give you your medicine, having this information available will help to prevent mistakes. Be sure to print out this information on paper and take it with you to the hospital, or give it to your nurse. It is also a good idea to have your doctor review a list of your medications from time to time. If you have a reaction to a medication, be sure to record it in the window Allergies & Drug Reactions.
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