Medication Management 101

Doctors prescribe medications in an effort to provide symptom relief, manage chronic conditions, cure infections, and promote wellness in ourselves or the ones we are caring for. To get the most desirable results, it is important to manage medications properly, below are tips to help you do so.

Keep a current list of medications on you at all times

Keep a current list of medications on you at all times, along with the dose and the time of day the medication is taken (this includes vitamins, supplements, and natural remedies). Doing so will allow you to consistently communicate to everyone in your loved one’s care team what medications they are on.

This will help ensure that Doctors aren’t prescribing medications that shouldn’t be taken together, that they aren’t prescribing a medication that is similar to one already prescribed, and so they can monitor for adverse reactions related to your loved one’s medication regimen.

Take medications as prescribed

How often do we abruptly stop taking a medication because we feel better or decide we no longer need it? Or, how often do we change the time of day we take our medication out of convenience? It happens often and can result in unpleasant and sometimes dangerous outcomes. Always talk with your loved one’s care team before stopping a medication or altering the time of day in which medications are taken.

There are sometimes reasons for taking the medications at a certain time or for a specific amount of time that may not have been properly explained to you.

Keep medications organized and in a safe place

Always keep medications in one place, up and out of sight, and out of reach. Consider using a medication organizer to help do so. There are options that include simple pill boxes, pill dispensers with alarms, and services that package prescribed pills by the time of day they are taken and deliver them to your loved one’s home.

These methods of organization help decrease the risk for taking incorrect doses and can help caregivers monitor and identify when prescribed medications aren’t being taken as they’ve set up for their loved one.

Always be open with your care team in regard to medications, vitamins, supplements, and natural remedies your loved one may be taking. Even more importantly, never hesitate to ask questions.

By Breanna Boysel, LPN