Medications of a wide variety are often needed for people who are elderly. Even though they need them, however, does not mean they always take them as prescribed. In order to avoid complications and ensure patients are not ending up in the hospital for failure to take their medications, hospice care helps with medication management. There are four ways in which they assist with this task.
Medication Education
The first step in getting people to take their medication is to educate them on the importance of it. Many may believe the pills will not actually help, or that they feel fine enough that they don’t need them. Providing an education on how a medication works, and why it should be taken, may help some realize that their pills are necessary.
Filling Prescriptions
Some struggle to get out of the house and accomplish daily errands. This may include filling a prescription. Many medications need to be refilled a number of times, so not filling prescriptions can be harmful to the person’s health. A staff member from the hospice facility will sometimes assist patients by filling their prescriptions for them, or ensuring a family member is getting it done.
Providing Pill Organizers
With countless medications to take, some often find it difficult to remember which ones they need to have on which days. Using a pill organizer helps with that. A nurse may provide a pill organizer and ensure it is filled each week with the correct pills to take. This way, no pill is ever missed.
Daily Reminders
For those that still seem to struggle to take their medication on their own, daily reminders can be provided. Each day, a nurse will instruct the patient to take their medication as prescribed. This may include checking pills to see if they were truly taken if the patient forms a habit of not taking them.
Providing medication management is not as simple as telling a patient to take their pills. The task often includes a variety of duties to ensure it gets done. With reminders, pill organizers, filling prescriptions, and proper medication education, patients will be far more likely to stay on track with their health and take their medication as prescribed.
