Dad stays with each of us in turn: how do we organise his medication?

How to avoid medication errors when a parent spends time with each child: e-prescriptions, doctors in another region, dosage systems and handovers between siblings.

If your father spends time at each of his children's homes, the safest way to organise his medication is to keep a single treatment list, one person who coordinates it and one reference pharmacy that prepares it, so that each handover is simply a matter of passing on the medication and up to date information.

We explain how e-prescriptions work in another region, what happens with his doctor during each stay and how siblings can hand over without mistakes.

What is the main risk when medication moves between homes?

The biggest risk is losing track of the treatment: each child having a different version of what their father takes, medicines being duplicated under different brands, or a dose change made in one city not reaching the next. Every handover is a moment when errors can occur.

The MSD Manual notes that transitions between care settings are a major source of errors in older people, and that using a single pharmacy makes duplicates easier to spot. In a family that shares care, each seasonal move works like a small transition. You may also find our ideas on organising care at home as a family helpful.

Can he collect his medicines in another region?

Yes. Since March 2019 e-prescriptions have been interoperable across all Spanish regions, so a prescription issued in one region can be dispensed at any pharmacy in Spain, according to the Government's 2025 answer to Congress. He just needs to show his health card.

There are some limitations worth knowing about, as the Basque Government Health Department explains:

• If a medicine is awaiting authorisation (visado) or has no dispensings left, the pharmacy will not see it and a prescription will be needed from a health centre.
• Prescriptions expire: if the stay is long, ask the GP to renew them in good time.
• It is advisable to carry a printed copy of the active treatment sheet.
• Co-payment caps may not apply in the other region; in that case, the difference is claimed back later from the home region.

To get more out of the health card, see what the e-prescription is for.

What happens with his doctor if he spends months in another city?

His GP remains the one in his home region, but during a temporary stay he can receive care at a health centre in the other region. Some regions issue a document for people staying temporarily: for example, the Community of Madrid has the Documento de Asistencia a Desplazados, requested at the health centre for the temporary address.

What matters is that no doctor works in the dark. Since July 2023 the National Health System's digital health record has been accessible through the Carpeta Ciudadana, and all regions are integrated into it. Even so, always bring the treatment sheet and the latest reports, and when a doctor in another region changes something, make sure his usual GP knows.

How can siblings organise his medication between them?

The key is to have a single medication list, one person coordinating it and one reference pharmacy, even if your father moves house. That way the handover between siblings is reduced to passing on the prepared medication and up to date information.

A personalised dosage system prepared by the pharmacy helps a great deal here, because the medication travels already sorted by day and time. The pharmacy good practice guide states that the SPD is usually prepared week by week and recommends handing over no more than four at once, so for longer stays you will need to agree with the pharmacy how the next ones will be prepared, for example with a pharmacy in the destination city. More information in what an SPD is.

A practical example: Manuel and his three children

Take the case of Manuel, 85, a widower registered in Valencia, who spends three months at the home of each of his three children, in Valencia, Zaragoza and Barcelona. He takes eight medicines, and during his last stay in Zaragoza a doctor changed the dose of a diuretic, but when he returned to Valencia nobody knew and he carried on with the old one.

A reasonable plan would be for his daughter in Valencia to act as coordinator, with a single shared treatment sheet; for the oral medication to be prepared in a dosage system and travel with him at each handover, agreeing with the pharmacy how to cover the weeks of each stay; for each sibling to log incidents in a shared document; and for any change made by a doctor to be passed on the same day to the coordinator, the pharmacy and his GP in Valencia.

How can IMA Health help?

At IMA Health we coordinate with a specialised pharmacy so that medication is prepared by day and time of each dose and delivered to the home, with personalised follow-up. Having a single source of prepared medication and continuous follow-up helps make sure treatment changes are not lost between one home and the next.

Sources

• Spanish Congress: Government answer on digital health records and e-prescriptions (2025)
• Basque Government Health Department: e-prescriptions in other regions
• Community of Madrid: healthcare document for people temporarily staying from other regions
• Spanish General Council of Pharmacists: Good Practice No. 14, personalised dosage systems
• MSD Manual: drug-related problems in older adults (Spanish edition)

This article is for information only and does not replace advice from your doctor or pharmacist.