Managing loved ones medications
4/25/2024 by Laurel Lake, Pharm.D., R.Ph.
It's estimated that in any given year, over 20% of American adults provide care for a family member or friend who has a chronic illness, disability or is elderly. If you find yourself in this position, you are not alone. Many challenges come with caring for a loved one, and managing medications is no small task.
Here are several important tips to keep in mind if you find yourself helping to manage a loved one's medications:
- Organize medications. A pill box or other organizational system can be an invaluable tool in ensuring the correct administration of medication regimens. Ensure you have an accurate and current medication list when you are filling the organizer. Keeping medications that are used "as needed" in a separate area can be an effective way to ensure medications are not accidentally mixed.
- Utilize reminders. If medications are dosed multiple times daily, establishing a consistent routine can be key to ensuring medications are taken. Many people like to use alarms to alert them when it's time to take a dose. Another helpful technique is tying medication administration to another activity that is done every day, such as brushing teeth or feeding the cat.
- Understand the medications. To support your loved one with their medications, it's a great benefit for you to understand what the medications are for. If you are able, go to visits with your loved one and ask questions when needed. Understanding key side effects to monitor for can help keep your loved one safe.
- Optimize pharmacy services. Many pharmacies offer medication synchronization services which allow all refills to be completed at the same time. This service minimizes the number of trips to the pharmacy and also reduces errors by streamlining the process. Filling prescriptions at just one pharmacy is also helpful to minimize medication errors and drug interactions. Does your pharmacy deliver? If so, it may be a beneficial service for you.
These tips may be helpful, but what do you do if your loved one doesn't want help?
For various reasons, there are sometimes barriers to helping someone manage his or her medications. It's important to respect their wishes, but also to emphasize the importance of medication safety. Set them up for success the best you can and provide tools such as pill boxes.
Laurel Lake, Pharm.D., R.Ph., is a clinical pharmacist in Primary Care at Mayo Clinic. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Wyoming School of Pharmacy and completed pharmacy residency training at the Cheyenne Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Mayo Clinic. Her clinical practice interests include diabetes, geriatrics and polypharmacy.