Medication management is the process of keeping an eye on the medicines a patient is given to make sure they are taken correctly and have the therapeutic effect that was intended.
The process includes an initial and ongoing review of medications to address safety and obedience concerns, cut down on bad drug reactions, teach patients and their caregivers, and get patients and their caregivers involved. Here are a few tips that can help with medication management.
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9 Medication Management Tips
When you’re in the hospital, your care team has systems in place to make sure you get the right medicine at the right time. It can be hard to keep track of things on your own when you go home. One study reveals that patients who don’t take their medicines as prescribed end up getting sicker, dying, and spending more on health care. There are likely to be many things that affect adherence.
Here are nine tips for keeping your medications safe once you get out of the hospital.
1-Use A Box For Pills
A pill box with the days of the week written on it is a great way to remember which pills you need to take every day. If you take different amounts of medicine in the morning and at night, you can give each time its own box.
To make sure you’re filling your boxes correctly, keep a chart with your daily medication schedule and look at it carefully each week when you fill your boxes.
2-Put Your Medicines Into Your Daily Routine
When you have a lot on your plate, it can be harder to remember to take your medicine at the right time. Because of this, it can be helpful to work your medicines into your daily routine.
For example, you might get into the habit of taking your pills right after you brush your teeth in the morning or right after you brush them at night. By using something you do every day as a reminder to take your pills, you can create a new habit that will help you remember to take your pills.
3-Make Notes For Yourself
Putting a sticky note on your mirror, kitchen cabinet, or steering wheel to remind yourself to take your medicine is one of the easiest ways to make sure you do it at the right time.
If it’s hard for you to remember if you’ve already taken your pills, keep a calendar in an easy-to-find place and cross off the days as you take your pills with a bright marker.
4-Use A Timer
You probably use an alarm clock to wake up in the morning, so why not use one to remind yourself to take your medicines?
You can easily set an alarm on your phone, your watch, or a real alarm clock to remind you when it’s time to take your medicine.
5-Use A Medical Alert Device
If you need more help remembering to take your pills, you could use an alarm to remind you to take your pills or get to your doctor’s appointment.
6-Get Help At Home
Home care help may be the best choice for seniors who have trouble remembering to take their medicines. A home care aid can help you remember to take your medications and do other daily tasks around the house. They can also help you get to doctor’s appointments and do some of the cooking and cleaning.
Furthermore, home nursing services extend beyond mere assistance with medication and household chores. They offer a personalised approach to care, ensuring that you receive compassionate companionship and emotional support. By customizing care plans to meet individual needs, home care aids play a crucial role in helping individuals navigate the challenges of aging with ease and confidence.
7-Keep A Detailed List
Even if you always take your medications on time, it can be hard to keep track of what you’re taking and how many refills you need every time you go to the pharmacy.
So, it’s a good idea to keep a detailed list of every drug you take, whether it’s a herbal supplement, an over-the-counter drug, or a prescription drug. This list can help you keep track of your own medications, and you can also take it with you to the doctor to make sure you’re getting the right ones and that you’re not at risk for drug addiction.
8-Talk To Your Doctor About Your Health
Doctors do their best to get you the right medicine, but sometimes prescription drugs have side effects that the doctor didn’t expect. This is why it’s important to keep in touch with your doctor.
Don’t be afraid to call if you think a medicine is making you sick or if you’re worried that two of your medicines aren’t working well together.
The doctor might be able to give you a different drug or look for another way to help you feel better. One-third of all seniors haven’t talked to a doctor in the last year about all of their prescription drugs. Don’t let yourself become a statistic. Stay in touch with your doctor to make sure your medications are still as safe and effective as the day you got them.
9-Ask To Minimize Medications
Ask your doctor if there is anything you can do to cut down on the number of medicines you take every day when you see him or her. The doctor might be able to recommend a non-drug treatment that makes more sense or can be used instead of a pill. You can have a blood culture test to figure out if you have any kind of infection in your blood.
If this is not possible, the doctor may still be able to limit the number of medicines you have to take more than once a day. The less medicine you take, the less likely it is that it will make you sick.
Things You Should Consider
If you take more than one drug and each one is filled by a different pharmacy, it can be hard to keep track of everything. Because of this, it’s best to stick with one pharmacy for all of your prescriptions. This can help keep bad drug interactions from happening and let you fill all of your prescriptions in one place. Please avoid self-medication it can cause harm to your life One study reveals that the biggest problems with self-medication are drug resistance, side effects, wasting resources, and serious health risks, including death.
