How to use a pill organiser
Ask a pharmacist which regular tablets and capsules can leave their packs, then fill a weekly box that matches those dose times. A pharmacy blister pack is the better option when you should not repack them yourself.
How to use a pill organiser
A pill organiser, also called a pill box or a dosette box, holds a week of tablets and capsules in compartments for the day and the time. Ask a doctor or pharmacist before you tip anything out of its pack.
Some medicines are damaged by light, air, or moisture once they leave the manufacturer's packaging. Medicines should stay in that packaging unless a dose aid would solve a specific problem, such as mixing up the day's doses.
Start from a current list: name, strength, and the times already on the labels. How to manage multiple medicines is the list to fill from.
Choose the right compartments
Many boxes run Sunday to Saturday. Pick the number of compartments from the times you were already given.
| You take medicines | Look for |
|---|---|
| Once a day | One compartment for each day |
| Morning and evening | Two a day, often marked AM and PM |
| Morning, midday, evening, and bedtime | Four a day |
A box with only morning and evening, and no days of the week, is a different tool. Use it only when the labels match that pattern.
Check that you can open every lid. Arthritis, large fingers, or weak hands can make a tight flip lid hard to open, and a push-button lid is often easier.
What stays in the original pack
Only solid tablets and capsules that you take on a regular schedule belong in the box. A pill box is not airtight, and the tablets sit in the light.
| Leave it out | Why |
|---|---|
| Taken as needed, or the dose varies | That compartment assumes every day is the same |
| Liquids, inhalers, creams, drops, and patches | These are not solid oral medicines |
| Effervescent, dispersible, or a tablet that dissolves on the tongue | These are damaged once they leave the manufacturer's pack |
| Sensitive to light, air, or moisture | Ask the pharmacist before that blister is opened |
| Special handling on the label | The pharmacist decides, medicine by medicine |
Keep every original pack and label, including after the box is filled. A loose tablet cannot be checked against the name and strength on the carton.
You will still use two systems: the box for what was packed, and the original packs for everything else.
Fill the box once a week
Fill it once each week, for the week you are about to start, and pick a day you will remember. Pack close to when you will take the doses, and keep the box out of direct light and heat.
- Put the current list and the packs on a clear bench.
- Fill one medicine at a time, into the compartments that match its label.
- Close that pack and put it back before you open the next one.
- Leave as-needed medicines in their own packs.
- Write the week you filled, and keep the list with the box.
Once two tablets share a compartment, a wrong strength is hard to see. Stop and check the packs if two of them look alike.
Where the filled box and the leftover packs should sit is in how to store medicines safely at home.
Tell them when a dose changes
Tell your doctor and your pharmacist when a dose changes. Then change the box before the next dose.
- Empty every compartment that used the old dose.
- Refill those compartments from the new instructions.
- Update the written list so the next fill matches the packs.
If you cannot tell which tablet is the old one, take the box and the packs to the pharmacist.
When a Webster-pak is the better option
A pharmacist can pack the week into a dose administration aid. A Webster-pak is a common brand: sealed blister compartments for each day and time.
The clear window shows whether that dose is still there. Ask what the pharmacy charges to pack one, on top of the cost of the medicines.
| A box you fill | A pharmacy pack | |
|---|---|---|
| Who fills it | You, or a carer | The pharmacist, each week |
| How you see a dose was taken | The compartment is empty | A clear blister, sealed until you open it |
| If a dose changes | Empty those compartments and refill | Tell the pharmacy before the next pack |
| What you pay | The box | A packing fee, plus the medicines |
Ask which medicines can go in the pack. Vitamins and inhalers may stay outside it, and some capsules are damaged by the heat used to seal a blister.
A pharmacy pack suits a regular routine that is hard to manage from the boxes, or a carer who needs to see that a dose was taken. It is a poor fit when doses change often, or when most medicines are taken only as needed.
Do not add or remove a tablet from a sealed blister yourself. Tell the pharmacy, and they alter the next pack.
A box you fill yourself usually does not show whether someone else opened a compartment. A sealed blister stays closed until you open it.
The box still needs a reminder
A filled compartment holds the dose. It does not ring when that dose is due, and it does not tell you a pack is running out.
How to remember to take your medicine covers a cue at the time on the label, and a record after you take the dose.
Pillbo can hold those reminders, and a history of doses you mark taken, skipped, or missed. Its late-dose alarm rings even on Silent, on iPhone and Android.
The box still holds the tablets. Pillbo does not check whether a medicine was safe to move, and it will not tell you to take a dose you are unsure about.
After you take the dose
- Open the compartment for this day and this time.
- Mark the dose after you swallow it.
- If the compartment is empty and you did not take it, ask a pharmacist before you take more.
- Refill on your chosen day, from the packs and the updated list.
Common questions
How do I use a weekly pill organiser?
Ask which regular tablets can leave their packs, choose compartments that match those times, and fill one week from your current medicine list.
Can I put all my medicines in a pill box?
No. Leave as-needed medicines, liquids, inhalers, creams, and any tablet the pharmacist says must stay in its original pack.
What is a Webster-pak?
A blister pack a pharmacist fills for the week, with a sealed compartment for each day and time, so you can see whether that dose is still there.
What if my dose changes after I have filled the box?
Tell your doctor and pharmacist, empty the compartments that changed, and refill only from the new instructions.
Sources
- Which pill box is right for you?, CHOICE
- Medicines safety for older people, healthdirect
- Appropriate use of dose administration aids, Australian Prescriber
