Lakeview Pharmacy offers free medication alerts

Did you take your medication today?

Lakeview Pharmacy is offering a new service to help patients keep track, by providing daily reminders.

The service, aimed at improving patient safety, is called My Dose Alert. It helps patients keep track of medications by providing telephone, text or email alerts daily, at whatever time the patient specifies.

According to a report by the National Council of Patient Information and Education, 84 percent of patients say forgetfulness is the major cause of medication non-adherence. Medication therapy has become more sophisticated over the years, with people of all ages taking multiple medications. One out of two patients does not take or refill medications as instructed by the prescribing physician, according to the World Health Organization.

Lakeview Pharmacy's solution takes the worry about complicated medication schedules. People sign up for the program at the pharmacy (or it can be done by mail), and their specific medications and the times they want alerts, are entered into a database. Lakeview has a staff member available to answer questions or concerns. Patients should notify the pharmacy when there are changes in medication. Alerts are then made automatically.

“We are very pleased to be the only pharmacy in southeastern Wisconsin to offer this important service,” said Amy Schiveley, PharmD, managing pharmacist. “It is free to everyone in the community, not just our current patients. My Dose Alert is very valuable because patients taking medication incorrectly will not get the desired results. Many times physicians determine a certain medication is not working and may change the medication or dosage, possibly leading to a more expensive drug or uncomfortable side effects.”

Lakeview Pharmacy, at 516 Monument Square, is open Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information stop in or visit the My Dose Alert website.