Medication Monitoring and Safety Tips for the Elderly

Medication Monitoring and Safety Tips for the Elderly

Sonia is seventy-three years old and lives at home alone. She has trouble sleeping and takes a prescription sedative in the evenings to help battle her restlessness. Sonia tries to live an active lifestyle and enjoys being outdoors and gardening, but her allergies have gotten in the way of her activities. She was prescribed an over-the-counter antihistamine, and has started feeling drowsy during the day.

Like many other seniors, Sonia visits more than one doctor. One doctor is prescribing the sedative, and the other is prescribing the antihistamine. The combination of the two medications is causing the side effect of drowsiness. Especially in situations where the elderly are receiving prescriptions from more than one physician, there is a likelihood for conflicting or even duplicate medications to be prescribed. Sometimes a prescription is given that is not the correct medication for the ailment, and the person receiving the medication will not question the doctor’s orders because they assume it must be right. Sometimes the individual will forget to take their medication, or they will eat or drink something that has an adverse reaction with the medication.

According to the Department of Health and Human services, 55 percent of the elderly are non-compliant with their prescription drugs; meaning they don’t take the medication according to the doctor’s orders. Approximately 200,000 older adults are hospitalized every year due to adverse reactions to their medications. 81% of seniors take a prescribed medication regularly, and 30% of those seniors are taking at least five medications on a daily or weekly basis. Taking such a great amount of medication puts seniors at risk for a drug interaction or other dangerous side effects.

What are some reasons for medication issues?

Other than multiple doctors prescribing multiple prescriptions, some other causes may be:

Vision impairment: elderly individuals may not be able to properly read the labels on pill bottles and be unable to distinguish medications.

Memory loss: some individuals with Alzheimer’s and other memory impairments may forget to take medication or take two doses of medication by accident.

Financial troubles: Low-income individuals may not be able to afford any or all of the medication that they need.

Social isolation: Elderly individuals who live alone and get little social activity are often more likely to forgo taking their medication.

Swallowing troubles: Some medical conditions may make it difficult for individuals to swallow pills. Individuals may be more likely to chew or crush pills into food or liquids for easier consumption. This is an issue because some medications are long-acting medicines that are released too quickly through the crushing process. This may keep the medication from working properly or could possibly make the person sick.

What are some solutions for my loved one?

Talk to your pharmacist if you are concerned that your loved one is taking medications that could cause a drug interaction. Your pharmacist should be able to tell you if two or more drugs may conflict with each other.

For vision impairment, ask your pharmacist for large print on the bottle labels.

For memory impairment, use a pill organizer, electronic reminders (if your loved one has a cell phone try setting an alarm on their phone) or computerized pill dispensers.

For financial issues, try to use generic drugs that are often much cheaper than their brand-name counterpart, or research for financial aid in Prescription Assistance Programs.

For difficulty swallowing, ask your doctor if the necessary medication comes in liquid form.

For social isolation, try to find a neighbor who can help ensure your loved one is taking medication or try adult day health care.

How can Oxnard Family Circle ADHC help?

Issues with medication such as side effects and conflicting prescriptions can create a spiral effect that poses serious health risks for your loved ones. These health risks could put your loved one in a hospital or nursing home. By enrolling in an adult day health care and knowing your loved one is having medication administered by professionals, your loved one will be able to live in their own home safely for a longer period of time.

Oxnard Family Circle Adult Day Health Care Center is a great option for seniors taking medications because we keep in touch with your physician and have registered nurses who can properly administer and distribute medications to your loved one on the right day, at the right time. Our nurses also follow up with physicians to report progress or any complications with medicine.

Oxnard Family Circle ADHC can also help your loved one properly administer their medication when they are at home. A participant that we will call Sandy may only come into our center once a week, but nurses at our center can organize a pill box for the rest of the week so she knows what medications to take for the day. Another participant may have diabetes and difficulty seeing, so nurses can help fill an insulin needle for him to administer to himself when he is at home.

Oxnard Family Circle provides healthy meals twice a day and opportunities for exercise, socialization, entertainment and so much more for only $79.00 a day. For this low cost you can not only buy the greatest senior care available, but also peace of mind. Oxnard Family Circle ADHC has the ultimate goal of keeping your loved one healthy, safe, and happy.