Avoid Medication Confusion

These days, the only health topic that seems to dominate our news feed is COVID-19.  But among the five most searched topics of 2021, one was entirely not related to COVID.  Sometimes simple due diligence can help us to better our health and the health of our loved ones.

 

Protecting the Elderly with Medication Reconciliation by Colin Banas MD:

As we get older, the number of prescriptions we take increases. People between 65 and 69 average 14 medications a day, and those over 80 average 18 medications a day. The potential for confusion and interactions between prescription, over-the-counter, complementary and alternative drugs is immense and can have dire consequences. One of the simplest things you can do for yourself or your loved ones is to sit down and review your list of medications with your pharmacist or primary care provider. There may be a potential to even reduce medications!

 

The steps to reconciling medications are as follows:

1. Gather all the medications at home including prescription, over-the-counter, old medications and herbal/complementary medications.
2. Take the list to your primary care provider. The PCP will be able to reconcile the medications at home with the list of those currently prescribed.
3. Ask for a list of medications with a note regarding what each medication is for.
4. Ask your PCP or pharmacist to check for any drug interactions and whether it might be possible to discontinue any medications.

 

This simple act will prevent much unnecessary adverse outcomes and go a long way to protecting your loved one.

 

Dr. Bhooma Bhayana is a family physician in London and the mother of two young men and proud grandmother of three! She continues to find wonder and enjoyment in family practice despite more than 30 years on the job!