A Cape Breton pharmacist is delivering medication to patients’ doorsteps in an effort to help people who have trouble managing their medications on their own.

When Peggy Shaw was diagnosed with diabetes two years ago, she says she went into denial.

“When I found out about my diabetes, I ignored it,” says the Whitney Pier resident. “I wouldn’t take my medication, wouldn’t take my insulin.”

Now, Shaw takes her medication faithfully every day.

She is one of about two dozen people served by the Daily Dose to You program, the brainchild of Sydney-area pharmacist Hugh Toner.

“There is a niche population, especially in the mental health field, as patients are integrated back into society, having their own medication, having their own housing, that type of thing,” says Toner. “There were patients having difficulty managing their own medications.”

The program delivers prescriptions to patients’ doorsteps and doses arrive up to twice per day, depending on need.

Delivery driver Jimmy Burns says it’s about more than medication. He says the personal touch of a pharmacist knocking on doors can be healing, and it’s also reward to watch people’s conditions improve.

“Seeing people be able to live their lives, be independent, being in their home, not in a hospital or group home settings,” says Burns.

“When people realize there actually is somebody who cares enough to make sure they’re getting their medication, and that they can live a healthy productive life, there’s a huge value and your self-worth goes up,” says Toner.

Shaw says the daily visits come with a sense of accountability and force her to take better care of herself.

“Today, I’m 100 per cent so far from where I was one year ago, two years ago.”

With files from CTV Atlantic's Ryan MacDonald