Here are some tips I have picked up alone the way regarding medicine.
Make collection convenient for you. If you can pick it up from your local chemist for the same cost as the hospital get it dispensed at your local chemist. GPs are happy to write the scripts and hospital doctors can either give you a hospital or an outside script. If you have to get it from the hospital or it is easier for you to get it from there, make sure you order your medicine in advance, so it is waiting when you get there. This way you avoid the hours it sometimes takes to dispense medicines. If you can't get there,see if someone else can pick it up on your behalf or if they can post it for you (postage can be cheaper if you consider parking costs).
Make medicine as cost effective as possible. If you go through more than one box/bottle of a medicine in a month ensure you get the Doctor to write an authority script for that medicine. If you are on a health care card you will get one months supply at the concession rate, even if a months supply is 3 boxes of the medicine.
Check to see if the script is any cheaper if dispensed at the hospital pharmacy (note it will need to be written by a hospital DR on a hospital script). There are some "private scripts" for sleep medicines that can be bought for the concession rate at the hospital eg melatonin but you end up paying full price if you get it through your local pharmacy.
When dispensing liquid medication it can be hard to get the medicine out when the bottle is getting low. To get around this cut a mixing cannula to size, so it touches the bottom of the bottle and you can still get the bottle lid on. Then all you need to do is attach your syringe to the cannula. All of a sudden you can get right to the bottom of the bottle. You can usually get mixing cannulas on-line and some places even sell them individually (careful with postage). Or use a clean ceramic egg cup. Pour a little medicine into the egg cup, syringe out what you need and pour the rest back in the bottle. The cup has to be clean and dry in order for nothing to taint the medicine.
Before wasting time crushing tablets to mix with water before syringing, see if the tablets dissolve from whole when mixed with water. I place two Losec tablets in a syringe, pull up water and within 10 minutes they are dissolved (Note there are many generic brands of this medicine and only some will dissolve in this way, so I make sure those are the only ones dispensed).
If you have loads of tablets, to be taken at all different times look at paying the pharmacist to do up a Webster pack.
Get in the habit of checking all your scripts (repeats left etc), before you head the Doctor. Ask for any that will run out shortly. That way you can make sure all the scripts are up to date and won't need a special trip to the doctor.
