Monitored Dosage System (Scotland)

It is important that you take the right dose of your prescribed medicines at the right time each day to get the most from your medicines to control your condition(s) as much as possible. This can sometimes be difficult if you take more than one medicine. One way in which this can be made easier is for your medicines to be supplied in a Monitored Dosage System, which provides you with a separate compartment for each dosage time of the day. A monitored dosage system (MDS) is a medication storage device designed to simplify the administration of solid oral dose medication, especially for those on multiple medications. It aims to address the issues of difficulty accessing medication due to sight impairment or other disability and/or forgetfulness.

MDS devices are usually a variation on the design of a box or a blister pack, divided into days of the week with several compartments per day to allow for the different timing of doses such as breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime. Our Pharmacist can help identify which patients this type of system would be suitable for. MDS may be suitable for patients in the following circumstances: You struggle to organise medications and find it difficult to remember to take them at the correct time each day You have a large number of medications to take each day You find it difficult to remove medication from its packaging You have a carer who helps you to ensure you take your medicines correctly. Ask a member of our pharmacy team about whether this service would benefit you or whether there is another course of action, which may be of more help.