Quick Ways To Maximize The Medication Management For Elderly Individuals

Consuming medications is usual for elderly persons in addition to following a strict diet. You can’t take medications lightly at any cost, and that’s why having control over the medication management becomes non-negotiable. What is medication management? It is a process to ensure whether the prescribed medicines are purchased correctly and taken on time to achieve the therapeutic outcome. When implemented correctly, this process minimizes the costs and improves the medical condition. Here are five ways to maximize medication management for elderly individuals. 

  • Get all the prescribed medicine from the same pharmacy

This is an underrated habit. Sometimes, you feel like getting the medicines while grocery shopping. 

While at other times, you might feel like getting from a nearby pharmacy as it’s convenient. 

Why should one get all medicine from the same pharmacy?

If the elderly individual is taking many medications, it is easier to get all the medicines at a stretch.

Also, the pharmacist can understand all the medications taken by the patient. 

In case of any negative reaction, the pharmacist can help you identify the potential cause for the negative drug reactions.

  • Refill in Advance

When you wait for all medications to get over before getting them from the pharmacy, the senior citizen might be at a health risk. 

For example, You must administer Insulin injections on time to ensure the patient’s blood sugar level is balanced. You can’t compromise on it. 

Check for the medications’ expiration date to ensure the patient is taking only proper medicines and purchase them immediately, even if few pills are still left. 

Enquire the pharmacist whether the patient can consume multiple medications on the same refill schedule to diminish the pharmacy’s back and forth.

  • Use Pill Dispensers

Pill dispensers come in handy for elderly patients so that they don’t have to remember which medicines to take when. 

It has a lot of compartments for each day of the week. Some have separate compartments for morning, afternoon and night making it easier for the patients to consume. 

Sometimes, pharmacists help in refilling the pill dispenser. 

Having a pill dispenser helps the caretaker and the patient whether or not the pills are consumed.

  • Look for the reactions after medication

Polypharmacy is an effect of multiple medications prescribed for multiple illnesses at the same time. 

When patients take a couple of medications simultaneously, they’re likely to develop allergic reactions due to the interaction among several drugs.

Probably, the reactions may occur within days, weeks, or even months of medications. 

When you’ve got a proper medication management system in practice as a caretaker, you can easily figure out which medication might have caused the reaction.

This happens once a new medicine is introduced to the regular medications. This provides the doctors with ample information for treating the patient for the cross-reaction. 

  • Mandatory Annual checkup

Not only the senior citizen must undergo an annual checkup, their medications too. 

As a caretaker, it’s your responsibility to take the medications consumed by the patient to the doctor for review. 

With age, the physiology changes, and what didn’t cause a reaction might cause an allergy now.

Additionally, over time if the elderly individual consumed the medicines properly, doctors would advocate discontinuing some of them. 

The Final Takeaway

Medication management is a must for all elderly individuals. As a caregiver, you should consider these tips for ensuring the senior citizen’s health you’re taking care of. 

Amanda Flemings

An accomplished content writer with a talent for weaving words into captivating narratives. With a keen eye for detail, impeccable research skills, and a passion for diverse subjects, they craft engaging, informative, and authentic content. Their ability to adapt and connect with audiences makes them a reliable source of information and storytelling.

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