Tips on Helping Manage Prescriptions
First, let’s get the disclaimers out of the way. We’re not doctors, or pharmacists, and if you’re not either, you should always rely on a doctor and/or pharmacist for a final opinion on anything to do with medicines or supplements. In fact, many pharmacy chains offer a number of caregiver tools on their sites, including Walgreens and CVS. No matter what, it’s important to talk to a professional, whether you think you know the answer, or not.
That said, family and other caregivers often find themselves partially, or fully, involved in a senior’s medical regimen. Here are some tips for reducing a chance of a problem:
- Keep a list of every medication they are taking, including over-the-counter and herbal remedies, with the frequency and size of the medication. Keep it up to date. Recommend that they take the list and a box or bag with all the medications to every medical appointment. It is important to tell the health care provider which medications they are taking and how they are taking them.
- The patient should always let the primary care physician know when another physician prescribes a new medication, or if they have any problems with a new medication. If they are thinking of stopping a medication, or can’t afford to get all of the prescriptions filled, they should discuss it with the physician first.
- Try to use only one pharmacy for the prescriptions. A pharmacist can check for adverse drug interactions if he or she knows about all the medications they are taking. If it’s necessary to use multiple pharmacies, take the list of prescriptions and show it to the pharmacist.
- Use a weekly or daily pill organizer, especially when taking several different medications, to help ensure that they get the right dose at the right time. Establish and follow a regular routine for taking medication. An example might be taking their nighttime pills right after they brush their teeth before bedtime.
- Keep medications in their original containers, except for those they put in a pill organizer. The labels on medication bottles contain important information, such as correct dosage and expiration dates.
- Choose one day each year (their birthday is an easy reminder) to check the expiration dates of their medications and check with local recycling authorities for proper practices for disposing of prescription medicines.
Mystery Pill? Can’t figure out what a medicine is? Drugs.com has a Pill Identification Wizard that may help you figure it out. To find the information on the mystery medicine, you can enter any combination of the writing on the pill, the pill color and the shape to get to a photo of the medicine. Drugs.com has a number of other tools including ‘drugs by condition’ (e.g., hypertension) and an interaction checker, where you can enter two, or more, prescription medicines and find out about the potential interactions.
FDA: The Food and Drug Administration has a generic drug finder, where you can search on a brand name drug and possibly find a less expensive generic. If you find one, talk to your physician to see if it will work for you. Other resources on the FDA site include: U.S. approved drugs and side effects.
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We purchased a pill organizer that is labeled for AM and PM – it’s a great help when certain medications are only taken in the morning vs throughout the day (2x or 4x per day).