Steps For Home Medication Management

By Lin White, Owner

Pleasant Hearts Private Care & Nursing Staff

. https://www.pleasanthearts.com/

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Steps For Home Medication Management

The activities of daily living often leave us too busy to remember if we have taken our medication, especially if we take many medications each day. Here are a few steps that you can take to make taking medicine a little easier. Implementing these steps into your life will simplify it.

Gather all medications into one location so you can see what you are taking. Get rid of any expired medications. Keep them in a clear plastic storage bin. Make sure medication is stored properly. It should be kept in a cool, dry place. That means the bathroom cabinet isn’t a good place to keep medicine – moisture and heat can affect drugs. Medication should also be kept safely from children and pets. If your medicine needs to be refrigerated, follow the doctor or pharmacist’s instructions.

Create and maintain an up-to-date medication list. This will prevent negative drug interactions. Record the medication name for prescriptions, vitamins, over-the-counter medicines, and supplements. Note how often each is taken, the dosage, doctor who prescribed it, the symptoms it’s supposed to treat; whether it is for short or long-term use.

Pre-sort medication for the week. The best type of pill organizer is one with enough compartments for every dose you will need throughout the day. The large pill organizer, for example, has 28 compartments – four doses each day for seven days. The pill sorter can be purchased at your local drug store or pharmacy. Double check with doctor or pharmacist for negative drug interactions if you take multiple medications.

Set up medication reminder tracking system. A simple way of tracking when medications were taken is to take notes with paper and pen. You can create a simple chart with medication name and dose, day and time of day. As you take each dose, put a check mark or X. Filling out this chart helps you know if doses were missed. You won’t have to wonder – “hmmm, did I take my morning dose already?”

Finally, plan ahead for medication refills. For long-term prescription medications, it’s essential to get refills on time so you won’t run out and miss doses. The most convenient solution is to ask the doctor to prescribe a 90-day supply through a mail-order pharmacy. That way, the medication will be mailed and you’ll only need to remember to re-order every few months. The time to refill mail-order prescriptions is usually two weeks prior to running out. This date is usually on the bottle along with the number to the pharmacy.