Medication management is absolutely essential for your senior loved one. Without a good organizational system to make sure that medications are stored properly, refilled on time, and taken when they should be. your senior parent’s health is at risk. But if your senior parent has a lot of health conditions or takes a lot of medications, you may be struggling to figure out a good medication management system that will work for them and for you. These tips from senior care providers should help you put a solid medication management system into place:
Get Everything From One Pharmacy
It can be time consuming and confusing to be juggling prescriptions from different pharmacies. Make sure that all of your senior loved one’s prescriptions are being filled at one pharmacy. That will streamline the process of getting refills and ensure that your loved one’s doctor and pharmacist know all of the medications they are taking. It’s important that they know all of the medications your parent is on so that they can be aware of any potentially harmful interactions between medications.
Use Alarms
Regular old fashioned alarm clocks are still a great way to let your senior parent know it’s time to take their medication. If your parent is somewhat tech savvy you can also set up alarms on a smart phone or tablet that have different alarm noises. The different types of alarms could be assigned to different medications to help ensure that your loved one takes the right medication at the right time.
Keep A Printed List or Inventory Of Medications
Create a list of all of the medications that your senior parent takes and the doses of each. Print it out and tape a copy of it inside the cabinet where the medications are stored. That way if your senior loved one or a senior care provider needs access to a list of the medications that your parent is taking the list is easy to find.
Call In Backup
A senior care provider who has years of experience helping seniors manage their medications has the training and insight to create and implement a medication management plan that will work for your senior loved one. If you’re worried about your ability to manage your parent’s medications or you are overwhelmed by the task of organizing all of their medications get professional help from a senior care provider.
Use A Calendar
Remember those old calendars that your parents used to have on the fridge where one of your parents would write appointments, special dates, and other important things? Now it’s your turn to create one but this one will have all of your parents’ medications on it. Write down the day and time that each medication needs to be taken as a visual reminder to take the meds. It’s also a smart idea to use one color for each drug so that your senior loved one will see a certain color and know what drug they need to take.
If you or an aging loved one needs Senior Care in Sacramento, CA, remember Senior Home Care Services. Call us at (916) 514-7006 for more information.
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