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.
Introducing the Med Room So where do they store all that stuff? It’s called a “med room.” The med room is a restricted-entry office that holds all resident medication, dosage records and prescription histories.
If you’re looking into assisted living for the first time, you should ask to see the med room. From an audit perspective, if you already have a loved on in assisted living, you should periodically ask to see the med room.
Your goal in visiting the med room is to validate the following:
Medication is stored in a well-organized manner like that seen in hospitals
Files are well-organized and clutter is at a minimum
The staff can quickly share with you your loved one’s medication and prescription history
There is a supply of pudding or apple sauce for those residents that have trouble swallowing pills
Contact information for your loved one’s doctors is readily available
The door is kept locked (verified by staff unlocking the door when they let you in)
Who Administers Medication Medications are provided to residents by a medical aide (called “med techs” by administrators). Med techs are responsible for the maintenance of the med room and for administering medications correctly and in a timely manner.
Med techs typically lay out all medications on a labeled delivery tray and deliver medication to each room. Their role is to ensure residents take their medications, although they will often leave medications with caregivers, if they are present.
In the unfortunate event of hospitalization, the med tech will also provide a copy of all current medications to paramedics or the individual taking your loved one to the hospital.
Keeping Track of It All As a family member, you should stay well informed of the medications your loved one is taking. The dosage record is the easiest way to do this.
A dosage record is kept for each patient and resembles the graph paper we all used in grade school. Along the left side of the page is a list of medications. Across the top are days of the month. Every time a medication is given, the med tech is required to sign the box corresponding to that medication and date.
The best way to spot-check medication management is to randomly request copies of the dosage report. Secondarily, ask the staff to notify you when medications are added or discontinued, so that you have a real-time understand of the medications being consumed.
Medication Management Works Medication management is a valuable service provided by the facility. Your involvement and periodic oversight will go a long way to ensuring your loved one is properly cared for. Your knowledge of their medication regimen will also better prepare you in the event of an adverse reaction.
naoc
aec
gamma-rs
cctvmap
pdxjazz
investormanagementservices
lincolnshirecommunityhealthservices
baygardensresorts
agathe
dfpkalender
alabardero
yogaanatomy
websiteandprint
energyglobe
lextenso-etudiant
nidaplast
sogesp
unisima
delmarcargo
vatican
chhayanwalasolution
digitalmatatus
annawahlgrenphotography
nocccd
scgaht
weeklyblitz
sanofi
zhaohf
bullbitcoin
cs-media
islandview-hawaii-qv1i
ywzn
xn--8-vfutfzadk9he
yensaokhanhhoa
teemeara
oswegoil
iaupress
brohltal-verwaltung
kasco
volksbank-lahr
hcorli
libfuzzer
thehackposts
sarev
zfairs
tra
sonect
laughingmantavern
thebridalsociety
zelezny
springaccelerator
make
addvocate
bullseo
webtree
rhonealpes-tourisme
podiatryinfocanada
zorgvoorkwaliteit
forsaa
iandmcanal
listsothebysrealty
americanabar
idahocountyfreepress
werkpro
rftw
landsurveyorsunited
visitsaimaa
provu
incomgroup
hns
liquidbrandlab
oblogation
theappota
soperth
onlisareinsradar
lasqueti
refrigeracionner
snowsportscotland
auvertaveclili
qdqingtian
pckwikfix
tri-media
jeffcohealth
138
yf11
perkmisty-template-trackers
oya
drnazmulhoque
68
sattakingdarbar
rafael
pan
ypdryer
plus500
bitkasten
strategicsway
thinkybits
jthreeconcepts
bse
veterinaryevidence
irris
wwnw
fanpix
txjmw
bjume
klonblog
qdhongfan
mnhn
kennedyrealestate
designmauricio
cassin
drcomputer
zooeasyonline
sitongbxg
bimintour2020
irishdeafsociety
agglobus-cavem
codia
kqz-ks
greeniconicsunshine
neilmitchell
stiftung-valentina
truckcom
indiegamewebsite
tienbikecycle
hcmotor
xhjck
rw360
hommemaker
6luche
webapplog
vegan-welcome
lawtip
carlislehomes
134
minotaurproject
nationalprintmuseum
gueriniusa
400gk
86sb
secretstop
bothellfencecompany
cstaf
corporatebloggingtips
cbolson
alvarezguitars
votetogetherusa
96789cp
blogcity
brannock
35
ravenashop
donaleda
ssv
openwrks
flash-pub
niudou
josef-weinberger
apricot
cecibeachtiapar
sanduskycountyoh
ticket-center-hohenschwangau
cuxin-dcm
ingria-park
icamperpuri
sitisquisiti
ctapt
boutiquedeideas
faktykaliskie
obamalla
babethings
greenparksports
rebeccakraus
cimunity
taibotan
zambiacarnivores
azuqueca
azurmendi
fusionworks
xfctpkj
hzpolychem
skalhuset
funasei
nmra2019slc
weareredo
designthinkersacademy
hbyirunxin
maisonorphee
norfin
thebesthentai
cpa-esg
clockwork
rossparker
scuoladesign
ppedv
rebilly
22net
doubledutchdrinks
hainanjt
panocean
taoredbao
eastendwomensmuseum
jsqlj
booknet
yunibeauty
flextherm
auto-ordnance
thelittlegayshop
deepglobe
soulmedicine
revontuli
franewmennyira
employeefiduciary
xn--7iq89a32f
acsc
struchel
fashioneyewear
tfda
rivacrmintegration
visitkittpeak
arc
xempus
diennea
vescos
5911718
ridersrepublic
towdispatchservice
paradies-ruegen
transpose
xinhualingguan
144911
bholley
nxist
glgxq
znacomstva
hikoki-powertools
nouridio
yi66
innovo
akmc
sbszipper
southerncurlsandpearls
68
educationconnection
chronicinktattoo
iainandjane
tdhgsb
4501024
overtimecook
awarex
rarecare
placeofindia
dream4sys
aicvic
u9global
interdope
inav
boletaofactura
cmcas
notaryresume
inetapakistan
special-promotion
dmmdigitale
webdesign-master
usakescort
daduwang888
efe
bhss
sosiaalikollega
chocosuisse
emaptus
fiepb
nichibun
pmmoneywebcenter
bayar
bloggazza
orbesterinfotech
okaysamurai
huotalk
bergoflooring
maybelline
enix
outsideoftheboot
adelaidecabaretfestival
medecc
wimpysdiner
medicina
120222com
educationcluster
globeorange
carpatclim-eu
velocitytrade
spaceworld
theantlersamerican
newsrelease
goodpersontest
twetch
vitechnology
187948
readyoc
fmsrevo
www-04400b
players
pasosfronterizos
scsmi
southwings
barozziveiga
academicmatters
ezchance
sonique
nh0
directory92
chiavari
geotalent
eumedz
networkapplications
tombeavan
facingthefuture
buliangdizhi
164
hpcc
hydraccm
viastore
bigwall
imuzik
sensushealthcare
deltecbank
georgia-paragliding
orthopediatrics
carnivoremd
51wendang
www-meticore
ericschweizer
zusun
oc-mod
europcar
transitionsonline
cleopatracasino
gironews
janicedemo
tetracyclinerx
suku-noppo
vnnsports
khonkaenlink
cleangames
hcso
huanglong
wholesale-clothing-women
psicosintesi
escoulen
jinlaier
tructiepbongda1
victorian-cinema
donnabellahair
geiltubexxx
simplelionheartlife
jojobride
translatorswithoutborders
opmeer
cathedrallabs
geodigitalagency
patricksweany
reeem
cljxc
fairhousingnc
neoscriber
freewalkingtour
todlamniewazne
plymouthboattrips
nihonkasei
tetemarche
939897
square-cash-app
boredpanda
yjhlw
us-midwest-1
bothi
ggserver
bryantbulldogs
kcp
goto-travel-ecoupon
geckoweb
anewgarden
nwscnotts
beyonddelay
paoloroversi
covid19
biccn
jobth
constrofacilitator
fse
videosxxxzorras
