Keeping seniors safe at home means learning more about the many resources that are available to older adults and their family caregivers. If your mom and dad want to stay at home, make sure they have everything they need to guard against medication mistakes.
After 35 years as a pharmacist, Rob Albers was familiar with many of the medication risks that older adults face, from overdosing to improper medication use. But he wasn't prepared to see a medication mistake result in an accident that left his own father, John, paralyzed from the waist down.
If you don't have a medical background, you can feel overwhelmed about how to keep your seniors safe at home, especially if they are taking many medications.
Safe medication management involves give and take between your senior loved one and his or her doctor and pharmacist. You are an important supporter as well for Mom and Dad. You can accompany your parents to the doctor or pharmacy to make sure they ask the right questions.
When visiting your 85-year-old dad, you see bottles of medication on the kitchen counter, on the bathroom counter and on his nightstand. You wonder how he is keeping all of his medications straight. What do you ask?