Why You Need to Understand Medication Management

 

Early in my mom's tenure in assisted living, I noticed her monthly bill had a significant expense labeled as "medication management." As someone who rarely takes any medication, I realized I needed to understand the process better.  I'll be dedicating several posts in near future to this topic, as I believe family involvement in medication management is critical.

Medication is a Major Issue According to a 2006 study by the three leading non-profits - ACHA, NCAL and MEFC, medication is often a major component of an older person's life, making it a major issue for assisted living facilities. The role of medication and medication assistance (called "medication management" by assisted living administrators) is surprising:

• 77.5% of residents needed assistance with medications
• Residents were taking an average of 13 medications

In an assisted living setting, residents rely heavily on staff to assist with the timely and correct delivery of medication.  But in the United States alone, nearly two million Americans experience adverse drug reactions from prescription medication each year.

What can you do to protect your loved one? A better understanding of medication management can help.

Where to Get Medications Families have several options for filling prescriptions on behalf of loved ones.  They are:

• Mail order. Most health insurance and Medicare plans provide options for mail order delivery of medications.  Prescriptions are usually filled in 90-day quantities. Price discounts are usually offered over that of pick-up or local pharmacies. Unfortunately, mail order makes urgent medications challenging.
• Pick-up. You guessed it?!  You or a family member pick up prescriptions and deliver them to the facility. For a small number of medications, this may be feasible.  But it doesn't work for multiple prescriptions on multiple delivery schedules.
• Local pharmacy delivery. Prescriptions are filled and delivered by a local pharmacy 1-2 times daily. Since assisted living facilities usually contract with a single pharmacy, rush orders and other conveniences are widely available. I recommend this option for all but the most hands-on families.

Read More:Why You Need to Understand

Medication Management