Medication, Aging.. What Every Caregiver Should Know!

In the changing healthcare climate, more and more families need to care for their elderly family and this presents many new skills to be learned. With cutbacks and tighter budgets in our healthcare systems there are fewer and fewer funded homecare hours to go around.  For those that have prepared for their retirement years and are able to stay in their own homes, having professional caregivers come in can alleviate much stress on family members and assist with medical needs such as medication administration.  For those that rely more on family assistance, caregivers are now having to learn to take care of much more than just groceries.  They may be required to assist with medication administration, injections, personal care such as incontinence and bowel routines.

Part of the aging process includes normal deterioration of the body and with this many seniors turn to their medical practitioners to assist them with coping with aging, disease and pain.  It is inevitable then, in our society that medication is a viable solution and widely used as we age. When caring for seniors, you will generally find medications and in some cases copious amounts of pills and solutions to go through on a daily basis.

When a senior gets to the point that he or she can no longer take care of their own affairs, this will inevitably include medical care. As a result of either physical or mental ailments, they are likely to have several prescriptions on the go for the various maladies, and all at the same time.  This may present them with a mammoth task to sort through all of them, which makes it extremely important that the caregiver be up to date on all aspects of the medication prescribed. The elderly person in your care has been prescribed the medication for a reason and, in some cases confusion on when and what to take may get complicated.

A caregiver must be sure to check medications for dates, diagnosis and duplications.  Many times, seniors seeing multiple doctors may be prescribed different meds by each of their doctors. Although many pharmacies now have double and triple checking processes in place to ensure patients are not being prescribed meds that can counter act with each other... different doctors may not be appraised of the many meds a senior could be taking. Due to many people having no family doctor, people are seeking the assistance of walk in clinics which most definitely presents the issue of medications interactions. 

There are steps you can to take to help yourself where the elderly person in your charge is concerned. Firstly, you must sort through all of the medications and make sure that you are fully informed about all of the dosages as well as checking that the prescriptions are up to date. One way that you can check your findings against the relevant prescriptions is a brief consultation with the doctor or pharmacist who has been dealing with the person you are looking after. Of course, they are not allowed to tell you about another individual’s medical history unless they receive the express consent of the individual in question. You should therefore take the senior in question with you or have Power of Attorney in place. Not only can the doctor or pharmacist then provide you with all of the information that you need, but he or she can also place your name on the necessary medical records to denote your status as primary carer.

Secondly you should ensure the prescriptions are all being filled by the same pharmacy each and every time.  Meet with the Pharmacist yourself including your senior if able and have a Med Check done.  Have your seniors medications changed into blister packs (some pharmacies charge a $2 fee and some waive this fee) for ease of administration for the senior and the caregiver. 

Thirdly, a caregiver should learn all he or she can about the diagnosis, the dosage and what the medication will accomplish.  Learning the implications and possible side effects can alleviate much frustration in the long run.  Speaking to the Pharmacist, reading on line on a reputable site are both good ideas. If you have a professional nurse coming into the home – speak to them and be sure to check their notes, keep apprised of their assessments and changes in status of your senior.

As soon as you are armed with all of the information you need, you can start to get organized. The most important thing to do is establish a routine so that no medications are ignored or forgotten about. The routine will also help the senior in your care to settle knowing they can trust you with this very important part of their health care.  He or she will be reassured by the fact that there are specific times for certain medications and will feel all the better for it. It will also give you peace of mind so that do not worry about the finer details that you may forget from day today. The routine will effectively take care of all of that.

You can use all kinds of tools to ensure that medications are taken in the correct doses at the correct times. It may be an idea to compile a checklist for you to fill in every day when medication has been taken. This will also enable you to keep track of the supply of each medication that you have. You will then know when it is time to refill the prescription. Daily dose boxes are also a fantastic idea in this sort of situation as well as the blister packages mentioned above. They come in little grids that are sealed to prevent the senior from getting to them and taking them at the wrong times or in the wrong doses. You can fill them at the start of every month, daily or weekly thus making your daily task of regulating the medication that little bit easier. It will also keep them all in the same place and save you valuable time that can be better spent doing other things.

Medication is an important part of any senior’s daily routine, but it is one that should be adhered to at all costs. Taking one tablet at the wrong time or in the wrong dose can have severe adverse effects and also cause further health problems that would best be avoided. By creating a highly organized system, you can avoid any such mistakes and enhance the life of the elderly person in your care as well as alleviate your own worry. 

T&E HealthPros offers nurses that can help you with creating a system for medication administration. Call 905.665.0518 for more info.