Prescription Medicine Tips for College-Bound Students

Prescription drugs may not top the to-do list of first-time college students preparing to head off to school, but parents can help ensure their student will continue to take prescription medicine on schedule while away from home.

Parents should remind their student of the importance of staying on medications and taking them as prescribed. Students leaving home should know their basic health history and the names of prescription medicines they're taking. If your student seeks medical care while away from home, his or her physician should be informed of all prescribed medications. And parents should also learn the effects of food and alcohol on prescribed medications and advise their son or daughter accordingly.

Setting up a local pharmacy account can be easily arranged if you use a pharmacy chain that has a location near the college campus. Most chain drugstores can easily make prescription records available from one location to another.

Students might find paying for their prescriptions a little more challenging, but one drugstore chain, Walgreens, makes that easier with its Express Pay service. With Express Pay, parents provide secure credit card information to Walgreens pharmacy department and students then can have prescriptions charged to that credit card at any Walgreens nationwide. Express Pay can only be used to pay for prescriptions.

Parents and students can find one of Walgreens 3,818 locations by going online at www.walgreens.com and clicking on "Find a Walgreens" or by calling 1-800-WALGREENS.

With a local pharmacy account set up and a convenient way to pay for prescriptions, students should be on their way to a healthy school year.