Helping Seniors with Medication Management at Home
The majority of seniors take at least one prescription medication on a regular basis, with close to 40 percent of them taking up to five meds per day. Oftentimes, seniors simply can’t keep up with all of the different dosages and instructions, making self-administration errors incredibly common. For seniors with cognitive issues or physical limitations, it’s even harder to maintain a consistent medication schedule.
Tips to Help Your Aging Loved One Manage Their Prescriptions
If you’re a family caregiver for an aging loved one, you can help them create a medication management system that prevents errors and keeps them safe. The following strategies will help you both stay on track with daily medications.
Create a Current Medication List
Start by gathering an up-to-date list of prescriptions, along with supplements or over-the-counter meds your loved one takes on a regular basis. Be sure the list is thorough, and includes the brand and generic names, what the medication does, the dosage, when and how to take it (such as with food), and potential side effects.
Have a Primary Pharmacy
Keeping all of your loved one’s prescriptions at one preferred pharmacy helps eliminate confusion and ensures they won’t run out of needed medications. The pharmacist reviews every prescription for possible interactions and allergies and can review instructions with your elderly loved one if needed. Plus, many pharmacies offer automatic refills and can even deliver straight to the senior’s home– a big benefit for those with limited mobility!
Stay Organized
Organizational tools take some of the guesswork out of medication planning. You or your loved one’s caregiver can help them sort their medication into a pill box each week. Keep the box in a place where the senior will be sure to see it– for instance, on the bathroom counter if they take their prescriptions first thing in the morning. If they have a smartphone or tablet, consider downloading an app that sends medication reminders and has an adherence checklist.
Ensure Safety
Sometimes, unused or expired medications end up sitting in a senior’s medicine cabinet for far too long. Additionally, certain pills have a high risk of negative side effects or interactions with seniors, including antihistamines, respiratory medications, and muscle relaxers. You can view a thorough list of these potentially hazardous meds on the American Geriatrics Society’s website. Talk to their doctor about the risks, then have a trusted person help the senior go through their pills to eliminate anything that’s potentially unsafe.
Visiting Angels Offers Medication Support
Managing prescriptions can feel daunting, but seniors don’t have to handle it all on their own if they don’t have family who can help. At Visiting Angels Farmington, we offer medication support and management as part of our comprehensive in-home care services. Although our caregivers can’t directly administer medications, they’re able to provide reminders, help organize pills, keep medication lists current, and note when anything is running low. They can also communicate with the senior’s medical team and family members to ensure proper medication adherence.
To learn more about this and other services we offer seniors in the Farmington area, or to schedule a free consultation, contact us today! Call 573-664-1722.