Avoid Senior Medication Mishaps with These Tips from Visiting Angels

Senior Medication

Senior MedicationThere are tens of thousands of prescription medications obtainable in in America alone, and around a third of all adults take at least five of these prescriptions every single day. If you’re a care provider for an aging loved one, the difficulty of senior medication management, keeping track of potential interaction issues, dosage amounts, and more can be overwhelming. In fact, studies show that 55% of prescription medications are not being taken the proper way for a range of reasons, and the outcomes can be dangerous.

Lessen the potential for senior medication mishaps and receive the highest benefits of the prescription by following these guidelines to help manage medications effectively.

Educate Yourself Right from the Start. Don’t be afraid to ask the physician and/or pharmacist questions about the medication. Make sure you know these particulars:

  • The name of the medicine
  • What the drug is prescribed for
  • How, when and for how long to take the drug
  • Proper dose
  • Potential side effects and drug interactions

Additionally, be certain to have your senior loved one’s physician routinely perform a medication overview to determine which drugs are still needed and which ones could be eliminated.

Keep a Master List of Medications. Creating a full list of all prescription medications, OTC drugs, and supplements that the senior takes can be a tremendous help at the physician’s office.

This record should contain all of the information from the list above, plus:

  • The shape and color of the drug (and a picture of the drug if possible)
  • The prescribing doctor’s name and contact information
  • Date the medication was started, and whether or not it should be refilled and taken repeatedly
  • Date the listing was last changed

Visiting Angels, providing elder care in Alameda and the surrounding areas, can help older adults manage prescriptions, set up medication reminders, and communicate with physicians and pharmacists to assure medications are being taken properly. Contact Visiting Angels today at 408-735-0977 in Sunnyvale, 510-284-0000 in Fremont, or 408-610-9996 in San Jose to learn more about proper medication management.