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By Dr. David Steinberg, Pharmacist
As the baby boomer generation ages and medications become more numerous, children and family members are charged with caring for the loved ones. This task comes not only with much stress but also with many questions. The questions often range from “Who will administer the medication when I’m not there?” “Is there a risk of my family member taking too many pills?” “How can I be sure that my family member is taking the same amount of medications he was taking at the long term care facility?”
These are just a couple of questions that we get at the pharmacy when we consult with family members and patients. As patients increase the number medications taken along with an increase to the number of physicians, the rise of medications errors is inevitable. Patients rely on family members or homecare givers to ensure compliance. We can do more. Every extra precaution or measure is well worth it when it comes to our family member. Our pharmacy has a unique system to mitigate medication errors such as over-medication and under-medication. We use, what is commonly called in the industry, a “bingo card.” It is becoming the industry gold standard and not only ensures medication compliance but puts the family at ease. It is a unit dose system where the patient’s medications are divided into morning, afternoon, evening and bedtime.
Each time slot has its own cell allowing the patient to know if the medicine was taken or not. It eliminates counting pills, filling pillboxes, and remembering doses. As a pharmacist, I hope to reduce common and preventable errors and help everyone live healthier lives.
Please call TrustedMedRx with any questions at 561-613-6209 or 855-9EZ-MEDS.