So I’m standing at the pharmacy in Howell NJ last March, already in a bad mood because I just had a root canal, and I just want my damn antibiotics so I can go home and feel sorry for myself. The pharmacist disappears with my prescription for like twenty minutes. When she finally comes back,…
My grandmother takes nine pills every day. Nine. I count them out with her every Sunday when I visit. She’s 82 and lives alone in the same house she’s been in for forty years. Up until last year, she managed everything fine on her own. Then she had that bad fall and everything changed. Suddenly…
I used to drive 15 minutes to this huge CVS where I’d wait in line forever, just to pick up my monthly prescriptions. The pharmacist never remembered me, they were always out of something, and honestly, it felt like I was just another number. Then my mom got sick and needed her medications delivered, and…
My mom used to go to this little pharmacy on Main Street where the pharmacist knew everyone’s name and what they were taking. I thought it was old-fashioned and kind of pointless – why not just go to CVS where it’s faster and probably cheaper? Then I started taking a bunch of medications myself and…
Last month, Eleanor walked into my pharmacy looking confused and frustrated. She’d just been discharged from Meridian with five new prescriptions, minimal explanation, and that all-too-familiar feeling of being rushed through an overwhelmed healthcare system. “My doctor had seven minutes with me,” she sighed, sliding her prescriptions across the counter. “Seven minutes to explain five…
The morning rush at my Middlesex County pharmacy always brings a parade of familiar faces—the construction worker grabbing antihistamines before heading to a job site, the teacher picking up her asthma inhaler, the commuter refilling blood pressure meds before catching the train to Manhattan. After twenty years behind this counter, I’ve come to recognize the…
The thick envelope arrived in Margaret’s mailbox last October—that familiar annual package of Medicare information that somehow seems to grow heavier each year. As she spread the contents across her kitchen table in her Montclair home, the feeling of overwhelm was immediate. Plan changes, new premium rates, formulary adjustments—the healthcare equivalent of reading another language.…
Let’s face it – diving into Medicare Part D can feel about as fun as getting stuck in summer traffic on Route 9. But if you’re a Howell resident trying to figure out your prescription drug coverage, grab a cup of coffee (or maybe something stronger), and let’s break this down into something that actually…
Listen, managing medications isn’t exactly a thrilling topic, but for New Jersey’s older adults, it’s literally a matter of life and death. Let’s cut through the medical jargon and talk about real solutions that actually work for our Garden State seniors. When Your Medicine Cabinet Looks Like a Pharmacy The Prescription Puzzle Picture this: Your…
Hey there! As a pharmacist who’s been battling the notorious New Jersey allergy seasons alongside my patients for years, let me tell you – we’re living in what I affectionately call “The Pollen Paradise.” It’s like Mother Nature decided to create a testing ground for every possible allergen, threw in some humidity for good measure,…