Keeping it Simple
Question: While visiting my elderly mother last week, I noticed some of her medications on the kitchen table in a salad bowl, some up in the cupboard, and a few pills loose on the table. When I asked her about this she became defensive and seemed somewhat confused. How can I make sure that she is taking her medications as prescribed without threatening her independence?
Answer: As individuals age, what most of us may consider to be routine daily tasks may become confusing or overwhelming. Medication times, grocery lists, food expiration dates, and appointment schedules, are all examples of specific areas where seniors living independently may need some support. Many seniors are taking several different medications at once and each on varying schedules; an organizational task of some considerable challenge.
Ask your mother’s doctor and pharmacist to consider the merits of organizing her medications on a blister card. This method groups all pills to be taken at the same time into one compartment and organizes these compartments in a calendar system. This option simplifies the process for seniors; providing a system that minimises confusion, is easy to monitor, and allows the senior to continue taking charge of their affairs. Also consult your pharmacy with respect to the accumulating inventory of medicine in your mother’s home. Some will offer to send a pharmacist to your home to review the inventory and remove any medications no longer necessary due to prescription changes, expiry dates etc.
Another area of concern for you may be drug interactions, especially when taking medicines prescribed by more than one doctor. Because information is not guaranteed to move quickly from one doctor’s office to another, you should consider buying all medications from the same pharmacy – one that maintains your mother’s medication profile.
If your mother is currently using a home care service for meals and/or housekeeping, another idea is to have the companion/caregiver help you out by reminding her to take her medications as prescribed. Even if they visit just a few times a week they can check the pill compartments on the days they are there and let you know if the medications have been removed. This adds another area of support to a service that may include helping with meal preparation, ensuring that food is fresh and not out-dated, encouraging water consumption, and keeping the home clean and organized.
This information is provided for educational purposes only and should not be considered as a recommendation for a specific course of action.
