Did you know….

*35% of all hospital admissions for older adults is related to medication mismanagement?

*125,000 older adults die each year (or 342 each day) due to medication related problems.

*The average older adult takes 8.8 medications?

Medication Management for any of us can be perplexing; however, older adults bring their own set of issues to the equation.

Very often medications are not taken as prescribed due to adverse effects.  Lasix, a diuretic or “water pill” often prescribed for Congestive Heart Failure, may be skipped because a person decides since they have an appointment or an outing, and they don’t want to have to use a bathroom enroute.

Cost can frequently impact compliance.  When a prescription for 30 days costs over $300, many of us would take pause.  Being on a limited income, as so many older adults are, just means that sometimes these difficult decisions have to be made.   With cost being a concern this also means that discontinued medications may not be discarded, but “saved” in case it is needed again.

Generic vs. brand names can be quite confusing.  Using the Lasix example noted above, many medicine cupboards include both Lasix and the generic form, Furosemide.  When both bottles say “Take one daily”, that is exactly what is done – leading to serious consequences.

One last extenuating factor concerns multiple physicians prescribing medications.  One of our Villa Home Care clients saw 4 Specialists, as well as his Primary Care Physician.  All of these physicians were prescribing various medications for him.

What’s the answer?

Having a medication management “system” in place can promote compliance.  That system can take many forms.  We have all seen the plastic medication boxes that many pharmacies sell that are labeled with the day of the week and the time of day.  These plastic boxes work quite well for many folks, and they are very inexpensive.  Medications can be placed in the appropriate sections for a week, or even a month.  It is easy to see if medications are left behind.

If an individual likes to “rearrange” the medications in the plastic boxes, then this is not the solution.  However, there are more sophisticated medication systems available that are locked, and only dispense the medications needed for that dosing time.  These kinds of devices can also notify a designated individual when the medications are not removed from the devise, so that a phone call can be placed as a reminder.

Villa Home Care offers a Pharmacist Review of medications.  The services of a pharmacist are available to our clients to review that lengthy list of medications.  Being specially trained in the geriatric field, the pharmacist can look for correct doses, consolidation of doses, duplications, potential side effects, and even the appropriateness of the drug itself.

Lastly, having a Geriatric Care Manager present at all of the physician appointments can greatly promote coordination of prescriptions.

For more information on Medication Management services, contact Villa Home Care at 602-957-9300 or www.villahomecare.com.