Taking five, ten or more medicines: how to stay on top of them

Taking several medicines a day is common, especially with age. Each one may make sense on its own, but together they make a routine that is easy to get wrong.

Ask for a medication review

In England, the NHS offers structured medication reviews to people who need them most, including people taking ten or more medicines, people living in care homes and people with severe frailty. A clinical pharmacist goes through every medicine with you, checks that each one is still doing a useful job and looks at risks and alternatives.

Wherever you live, you can ask your doctor or pharmacist to review your medicines. Bring everything you take, including vitamins and supplements.

Keep one complete list

Write down every medicine with its name, strength, what it is for and when you take it. Update the list as soon as anything changes, and carry a copy with you.

Group doses by time of day

Instead of thinking about ten medicines, think about three or four moments: morning, midday, evening, night. Each moment gets one reminder and one check.

Watch the stock

With many medicines, one always seems to run out at the wrong time. Count what is left, or let an app count it for you, and reorder before the last week.

PillRem groups today’s doses by time of day, counts what is left in each box and keeps the full history, which is handy to show at a medication review.