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We learned the hard way that a PWP is well-advised to get the doctor or surgeon to write orders indicating he/she will keep and self-administer meds. Hospitalization is stressful enough without having to wait anxiously for two hours or more past the scheduled time for meds. As you know, if the patient gets too "off," which is bound to happen if the meds are so delayed, it's darned hard to get back "on." Dick has now asked to self-administer his meds through several hospitalizations, and has had no trouble getting the doctors to agree. The first time he did it, some of the nurses were pretty uncomfortable with that idea, but in subsequent hospitalizations, we found less resistance. I might mention, too, that you'll pay a fortune for the same meds if the hospital provides them. We were shocked at the price of each individual pill during his first hospitalization, before we learned our lesson and started providing them from his home supply. Margie Swindler cg for Dick, 54/17