Medication Management: 10 Tips for older adults

As we grow older, staying healthy often means taking more medicine, whether it’s prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs or home remedies and supplements. In fact, nearly a quarter of older adults are on five or more prescription medications, and half take at least two nonprescription drugs or supplements. 

To keep up with everything — medication management is the fancy term — you have to make sure each medication is taken at the right time, refill each prescription when it runs low, look out for side effects and drug interactions, and clean out the medicine cabinet regularly. That’s a lot to handle! And caregivers, we see you too: a recent survey revealed 84% of family caregivers reported medication management as one of their top responsibilities. 

Fortunately, there are ways to make it manageable, and we’re going to share 10 of those practical tips here. 

1. Switch to mail-order pharmacy

Want to save a trip to the pharmacy — and save money at the same time? Consider filling your prescriptions via mail order. Benefits typically include lower co-pays, no delivery fees, automatic refills, round-the-clock access to pharmacists and zero travel. 

To get started with mail-order prescription delivery, ArchWell Health members or caregivers can talk with their provider, call our 24/7 care line or register online. After that, the provider will send the member’s prescriptions to the new pharmacy — making medication management much more convenient.

2. Read the instructions

We get it; drug labels aren’t much fun to read. However, they do contain some important information, like whether you should take a medication with food, or whether you should avoid certain foods. For example, grapefruit juice can cause problems with some common cholesterol medications, including Zocor (simvastatin) and Lipitor (atorvastatin).

So take the time to read what’s on the bottle, plus the printed materials that come with each prescription. Got questions? Talk with your pharmacist or ArchWell Health provider. Our doctors are experts at interpreting the fine print on drug labels and packages, and they can explain about side effects, drug interactions and drug schedules for older adults.

3. Make a list and check it twice

Your ArchWell Health care team and pharmacist can serve you better if they know everything you take (even if it’s just on an as-needed basis). That includes prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, home remedies and supplements. To help you or a loved one get started, the FDA has created this handy guide, My Medicine Record, that you can print and fill out.

4. Schedule a comprehensive medication review

A medication review is part of every new member appointment at ArchWell Health. We want you or your loved one to start on the right foot and keep moving forward — and medication management is an important part of that.

Beyond that, it’s a good idea to bring your prescription list and pill bottles to periodic doctor visits to make sure your medications are up to date and working well together.

In addition, all Medicare Advantage plans offer medication therapy management to members who take multiple medications for chronic conditions. This benefit includes a comprehensive review of all seniors’ medications, both prescription and otherwise, to spot potential problems.

5. Clearly mark all medications

While prescription medications come labeled with the patient’s name, dosage and instructions, over-the-counter drugs and supplements do not. So be sure to mark these bottles and packages with the time of day they should be taken (morning, afternoon, evening) and the name of the person taking them. In homes with multiple family members, try to keep each person’s medications in a separate spot, or mark each person’s meds with a different colored highlighter (yellow, green, blue).

6. Buy a bigger pill organizer

Those free pill organizers at the pharmacy counter work fine if you or a loved one only takes a few medications once a day. They aren’t so helpful when you take two pills at breakfast, three at dinner and one more at bedtime.

For $10 or less, you can pick up an organizer with two, three or four compartments for each day. By filling it each week, you’ll stay on track with your medication management and know when you’re running low. Or, if you have several free pill organizers lying around your home, label them “Breakfast,” “Bedtime” or another designation that helps you keep things safely sorted.

7. Keep medications safe

Medications are an important part of healthcare for older adults, but all those pills and bottles might look like toys or candy to grandkids and pets. Be mindful of little hands and paws by locking the safety cap on medicine bottles and keeping all meds — prescription and over-the-counter — out of sight and out of reach. For extra security, consider storing medication in a lockbox or a lockable drawer.

8. Don’t share your medication

When it comes to medication, sharing is not caring. That’s because your doctor has prescribed a specific medication and dosage with your health needs in mind — not a spouse’s or child’s. What’s safe for one person can be harmful for another, leading to adverse drug interactions, allergic reactions or overdose. 

If you or your loved one are finished with a certain medication, don’t save it for someone else’s future use — dispose of it properly.  

9. Clean out the medicine cabinet

If your medicine cabinet is overflowing, take some time to clear the clutter. Get rid of anything that’s expired or no longer being used. The same goes for any unmarked medications or items with a noticeable change in color, smell or taste. Do this every six months — like the seasonal time changes — to keep the medicine cabinet in order, and to reduce the risk of taking medications that have gone bad or don’t work anymore.

Need help sorting your meds? Members and caregivers can visit their ArchWell Health center to go through medications together and get handy disposal bags for old or unwanted medications.

10. Properly dispose of old medication

Throwing old medicine in the trash can harm the environment and lead to accidental poisoning of children and pets. To prevent this, take all expired or unneeded medication to an authorized drug take-back facility.

It’s easy to find a drop-off site — just ask your local ArchWell Health center about safe disposal facilities like pharmacies or community take-back centers in your area. Drug take-back centers are the best place to dispose of most old medicines, though medication on the FDA’s flush list may be OK to flush. 

Rely on ArchWell Health

At ArchWell Health, we want our members to get the most benefit possible from all their medications. We’re happy to give you and your caregiver all the time you need — in person or on the phone — to answer your questions. Reach out to your ArchWell Health care team today!