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Help Someone Manage Multiple Prescriptions

Caregivers can help avoid problems when those they care for take multiple medications

By Family Caregiver Alliance

Ever hear of “polypharmacy?” That’s the word for taking multiple medications at one time. It's common among older adults and many people with disabilities, and it can create some problems.

Research shows that the more medication a person takes, the greater the risk of medication-related problems. Caregivers can do a lot to prevent these problems if they help those they care for keep track of medicines and ask the right questions.

For most older people, multiple medication use is the norm. Many chronic conditions or diseases — diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, arthritis, incontinence, high blood pressure, pulmonary disease, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease — often require the use of multiple medications. The focus must be the appropriateness, effectiveness and safety of all prescription and over-the-counter medications.

Caregivers must ask questions about each medication, like:

  • Is this medication really needed?
  • Is the medication the most appropriate for the medical condition being treated?
  • Will the medication be a problem with other medical conditions that are occurring at the same time?
  • Is the medication being prescribed at the right dose?
  • Does the medication interact with other medications?
  • Can the medication be taken correctly based on specific patient circumstances?

Some of the challenges faced by caregivers who must juggle multiple medications for their loved ones include keeping all the prescriptions filled, especially during weekends and holidays, and managing medications prescribed by multiple doctors.

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Planning ahead to refill prescriptions on time is essential; keeping an up-to-date medication record can inform doctors of all medicines prescribed by others. A “Caregiver’s Notebook” — a looseleaf binder maintained by a caregiver — is an ideal way to compile information on medical diagnoses, doctors’ appointments, questions and medication history.

More
Caregiver's checklist for medications
Prescription problems: What to look for

Based on content in the Family Caregiver Alliance fact sheet “Medications: A Double-Edged Sword.”

By Family Caregiver Alliance

MissionFamily Caregiver Alliance is a public voice for caregivers, illuminating the daily challenges they face, offering them the assistance they so desperately need and deserve, and championing their cause through education, services, research and advocacy.    Who We Are Founded in 1977, Family Caregiver Alliance was the first community-based nonprofit organization in the country to address the needs of families and friends providing long-term care at home. Long recognized as a pioneer in health services, the alliance offers programs at national, state and local levels to support and sustain caregivers.National, State and Local Programs Uniting research, policy and practice, the alliance established the National Center on Caregiving to advance the development of high-quality, cost effective programs and policies for caregivers in every state in the country. The National Center on Caregiving sponsors the Family Care Navigator to help caregivers locate support services in their communities. Family Caregiver Alliance also oversees Link2Care, an Internet support and information system for clients of California's system of Caregiver Resource Centers and operates the Bay Area Caregiver Resource Center in the six-county San Francisco Bay Area. In that capacity, the alliance's staff social workers work closely with families caring for ill or elderly loved ones. Our services, education programs and publications are developed with their expressed needs in mind, to offer real support, essential information, and tools to manage the complex and demanding tasks of caregiving.

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