Is Your Loved One Taking Their Medications?

How can you find out if your elderly loved one is taking their medicine consistently?

In it’s report on Adherence to long term therapies, The World Health Organization concluded that:

• Adherence to long-term therapy for chronic illnesses in developed countries averages 50%
• Patients need to be supported, not blamed
• Patient-tailored interventions are required
• Adherence is a dynamic process that needs to be followed up
• Family, community and patients’ organizations are a key factor for success in improving adherence

Elderly people are at increased risk. The World Health Organization report states that: “the prevalence of cognitive and functional impairments in elderly patients increases their risk of poor adherence. Multiple co-morbidities and complex medical regimens further compromise adherence. Age-related alterations in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics make this population even more vulnerable to problems resulting from nonadherence.”

How do You Know if Your Elderly Loved One is Taking their Medications as Prescribed?

The World Health Organization describes the difficulty in measuring medication compliance, including the fact that patients do not always accurately describe their own compliance. Many assessment tools have been developed, but the most effective way is obviously to watch your loved one take their medications to see if they are doing so according to the prescription. If your loved one does not live with you, that is a challenge!

Fortunately, devices for organizing medications can also help in determining adherence. Pill organizers can show which doses were not taken, and electronic pill boxes can send alerts when doses are missed or when the boxes need to be refilled. These methods will not detect doses that were removed from the box and dropped, misplaced, or thrown away.

Therefore, it’s always best if a trusted human being can visit the home and:

• Determine whether prescriptions have run out or are likely to run out
• Examine pill organizers to see if they are being used and to check for missed doses
• Look for dropped pills or pills left in other areas of the home
• Watch when medication is taken to see if it is done in accordance with the prescriber’s instructions

How Can You Help Your Loved One to Take Their Medications as Prescribed?

Read our article on How to Help Your Loved One Remember to Take Their Medications.

How Care is There Can Help

If you are concerned that your elderly loved is not taking their medications as prescribed, we can set up a system to monitor medication compliance, including:

• Determine whether prescriptions have run out or are likely to run out
• Observing and evaluating your loved one’s current approach to organizing their medications
• Setting up a system to help monitor whether medication is being taken as prescribed, including:
  • Counting pills or monitoring pill organizers
  • Looking for dropped pills or pills left in other areas of the home
  • Watching when medication is taken to see if it is done in accordance with the prescriber’s instructions

Resources for Medication Adherence

• World Health Organization

Next Steps

Contact Care is There today for a free consultation!

Charlottesville Area: 434.326.5323
Shenandoah Valley: 540. 246.0211
Toll Free: 800.434.1633
Email: Info@CareisThere.com

Related Articles

• Medication Management
• How to Help Your Loved One Remember to Take Their Medications