Medication Management and Supervision - Assisted Living Homes

One of the biggest benefits of living in an assisted living home environment for the elderly is medication management. It is expected that with age comes health problems. Older folks are usually on multiple medications; in fact, some individuals may be taking dozens of different medications each day. Keeping up with it all can be a burden. Of course making sure that medicine is taken as prescribed is very important in order to repeat the therapeutic or sometimes even life-sustaining benefits of what the doctor has ordered. Unfortunately as folks get older they may have trouble trying to make sure they are taking the right medicine at the right time in the right amount. Some may forget to take their medication at all, while others may forget that they have taken it and then end up taking too much. Medication management is a real issue for some elderly folks, especially since dementia is usually

Managing all the medication can be very stressful and many times it becomes overwhelming and the individual simply decides not to take the medication. This is where assisted living homes really can make a difference.

How It Works

The process is very convenient and simplistic. It is not intrusive, it is simply a matter of one individual is helping another to take the right medication. In most assisted living homes there are dedicated staff members that have some type of medical training that are tasked with dispensing medication and making sure that everyone gets what they need.

This is a perfect way to insure that all the residents are on the correct medication and that they take it when prescribed as prescribed. There are some cases where this can be the difference between life and death.

An additional benefit, especially with a new medication, is having someone there to monitor the reactions of the medication on the individual. In assisted living homes, most of the staff get to know the residents very well and are trained to listen for cues indicating that a medication is not working as it should or that it is causing uncomfortable side effects. Regardless of the age a lot of folks are just not that in tune with their body's cues and they might take a medication that may cause side effects that they might attribute to other causes never realizing that it is the medication that they are taking.

Supervision can include checking blood pressure and other bodily functions for a sign of something amiss. This is a great service that is a safety net of sorts to be sure that the medication that is prescribed is working as it should.

Diabetes

Diabetes afflicts many older adults for a host of reasons. It is a very serious disease that needs to be monitored closely. In assisted living homes, when medication is being supervised, many times so is the resident's blood sugar level. This is a great service that can save lives.

Alzheimer's disease

Many elderly patients suffer from conditions that bring on dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease. Dementia patients in particular can benefit from medication management that is offered by assisted living facilities.

Assisted living homes are a great way to being sure that an older adult is being assisted with day to day needs to include taking medication.