Packing Medication
To allow for an emergency or a trip delay, include at least one extra day’s meds for bus trips, two extra day’s meds for flight or cruise trips.
Medication Administered ONLY at the Following Times:
- Before breakfast
- At mealtimes
- 10am
- 2pm
- 3pm
- 4pm
- Bedtime
- When each traveler first joins the group we collect medications for all traveler who have “Reminders Only” and “Special Journeys Passes Meds” marked on their Pre-Trip form. These meds are placed in a custom bag and labelled for that individual. All medication MUST be placed in a Special Journeys custom med bag so that we can properly identify and track everything. Special Journeys is only responsible for dispensing medication provided to us and identified when the Traveler is picked up.
- Unless instructed otherwise, we will give “Once a Day” medication at breakfast.
- Please include a Medication Administration Record (MAR) so we have a record of the pills the Traveler is taking.
- If you send more meds than are need for the trip, we will return the remainder when we drop the Traveler off after the trip.
- If there are separate pill sets for both Home and another location (such as work), be sure to include both sets. Mark them clearly as “Home” and “Other,” and rubber-band them together so we can keep them straight.
- If the trip falls over two months, please separate the cards by month so we can manage them properly.
- If there are multiple cards or packs of the same set of pills (especially over different weeks), identify each one with the starting date or the pills.
- If multiple sets are required to contain all the traveler’s pills for a specific time, mark with – for example – “1 of 2”, “2 of 2.”
- Special Journeys is not responsible for errors in labeling on pre-packaged medicine.
• Daily Pill Card / Blister Card (one pill per bubble)
• Daily Medication Blister Pack (multiple pills per bubble)
• Unit Dose Box
- Pill Minders – Tape pill minders shut so pills don’t fall out. For pill minders with 7 compartments, label the pill minder with the delivery time. For pill minders with compartments for multiple times, if medications are taken at times other than those marked on the container, CLEARLY identify the correct times.
- Pill Envelopes – Place all pills for a single medication time in one envelope. Label each envelope with the traveler’s name, date and time for each dosage, and the number of pills inside. No need to write the medications’ names on the envelope.
• Pill Cassette
• Traditional Prescription Bottle
Call for prior permission before sending either of these systems. Please consider using pill envelopes instead.
Cassette systems open too easily when transported; and they are bulky, requiring a lot of space. Prescription bottles are very time-consuming to use and generally are difficult to use. Many of the individuals on our team find that the writing is small and hard to read. Prescription bottles are very error prone – especially if a single medication has multiple dose sizes and/or delivery times.