Medicines are a normal part of daily life for over half of the American population. Statistical data shows that older Americans are taking more than five types of medications each day. Having multiple medications may be overwhelming and confusing, especially for the older citizens that need to take multiple medications in a single day.
Confusion may lead to people missing their medications or medication non-adherence. If this happens, it can have dire consequences and negative effects on their health. The good news is that there are solutions to help patients manage their medications. If you frequently forget to take all your medicines and are looking for a way to make sure that your medications are taken on time each day, you have reached the right blog post!
Medication Management Made Easy: Simple Tools You Can Use
Medication non-adherence can cause a horde of problems and complications for a patient. While there are feasible and convenient ways to avoid forgetting to take your medicine dose, it is equally important to understand the common causes of why people forget to take their medicines.
Causes of Medication Non-Adherence
Some of the most common causes of missed doses of medications happen to people everyday. Insufficient knowledge about the medication and how it works to combat the disease, lack of transportation to acquire the medications, or simply because the patient forgets to take them.
Medication Management Tools
1 – Plan a Schedule
It helps if you take your medication everyday at the same time. It will be much easier to remember to take them if it is part of a daily routine.
2 – Use a Pill Organizer
Pill organizers are great for people who have to take more than one pill a day. You can couple this method with number one and take each medication at a different time of the day. If it is possible, you may be able to take all your medications at one time. However, it is best to consult your doctor about this first.
3 – Place All Your Pills in One Place
Putting all your medications in one place will help you remember to take them. If you store them in different places of your house, you will likely forget one or two (or all) of them.
4 – Consult Your Doctor or Pharmacist
It is vital that you regularly see your doctor and get regular check ups to make sure that you are still up-to-date on all the medications you are taking. You may not need some of the maintenance medicines anymore, and may be able to get rid of some of the pills you need to drink each day.
5 – Use a Medication Management System
There are systems that have been developed to help with this very problem. Using a medication management system will help you remember to take each of your medications on time without missing any of the crucial doses you need to manage your illness.
Conclusion
There are many ways by which you can better manage your medications list. However, the most reliable one is to get a caregiver and have them use a medication management system. This way, you will never miss a dose and will be able to completely avoid the consequences of non-adherence to your medicines.
If you are looking for a reliable medication management system, doctors recommend MedManage! It is a cloud-based medication tracker for patients and caregivers. MedManage allows common tasks which are often done manually or from memory such as managing multiple medications and maintaining a daily medication log to be done in the digital world. Using our mobile and web app remembering, storing, and sharing your medication status and history is now easier than ever. Use My Medication Log today and never miss your medicine doses again!