Keeping Your Meds Straight in 5 Easy Steps

Consumer Reports study of 2000 seniors over 65 take on average 5-10 prescription medications per day. In addition, seasonal and temporary prescriptions are added. These number to do not include the over-the-counter medications. Missed and mixed-up medications are a serious and expensive issue in healthcare today.

What can you do to be safe, keep medications in order and receive the benefits that each medication is meant to give?

1. Write them down. Keeping a good log of ALL your medications, prescriptions and over-the -counter can be life-saving. All medications do not mix. Update with each new over-the-counter or prescription.
2. Determine brand or generic. These may not look alike and be labeled differently. Understanding and recognition are vital to safe medicinal care.
3. Bring List to Pharmacist. Bring a list of everything you take. Ask the pharmacist to review and see what medications may be cross indicated, which should be taken or not taken at certain times or alone. Write the answers down. Most of us are seeing multiple physicians. Each ordering medications. A pharmacist will pick up on any redundancies or contraindications.
4. Take a photo. When you get your list done put a pill, as an example on the paper and take a picture.
5. Tap Pillbox Power. Many pills look very similar. When you are loading your meds into divided, daily, morning, midday and night medications you can easily refer to you photo.

Follow all these strategies for better and safer self-care.