How many daily medications does your dad take? In addition to his prescription medications, his doctor may have him taking supplements like vitamin D and calcium to help strengthen his bones. According to the CDC, almost half of Americans take at least one or two prescription pills each day. About 25% take three or four pills, and close to 13% take five or more. Keeping track of all of his pills may be challenging, and your dad cannot risk his health by forgetting one of his pills.
What can you do to ensure your dad doesn’t miss a dose? If you can’t be there at the right time of day, it’s important to make sure there is a system in place that works for him. Here are some of the tips to use to make sure your dad takes his pills on time each day.
Purchase a Pill Organizer
There are pill organizers that have flashing lights or audible beeps to alert your dad when it’s time for his next pill. These can be extremely helpful in reminding him to take his different pills at the right time. But, someone needs to fill the pill organizer each week or month to ensure the pills are in the right slots.
The simplest system is simply a plastic organizer with different cubes for the pills he has to take. They’re often divided into “morning,” “afternoon,” and “evening” plus each day of the week. These may be enough for your dad.
Look Into Pill Pack Solutions
Some online pharmacies offer services known as “Pill Packs” where the pills you take are packaged in a timed/dated air-tight envelope. This can make it easy for your dad to track when he needs to take a pill. He finds the envelope with that date and time and takes everything within that package.
This system only works if your dad is good at keeping track of the date. If he has a hard time remembering the date, pill packs won’t work as well.
Set Up Reminders With a Smart Display or Speaker
Smart speakers are ideal for reminding your dad to take his medications. You have to set up the daily calendar and make sure the timers go off at the right times and instruct him on what he needs to do. For this to work, you’ll need to add a pill organizer or make sure he can read the labels on his medicine bottles.
Hire Home Care Providers for Medication Reminders
Consider hiring home care providers to help your dad out. In addition to helping him with meal preparation and light housekeeping, he’ll have a home care aide in the home to remind him when it’s time for a dose of medicine.
Would medication reminders help your dad? Hire home care to be available each morning or afternoon to remind your dad to take his pills at the right time. His home care aides are there if he needs someone to keep him company when the side effects kick in, his caregiver is right there for peace of mind.
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/drug-use-therapeutic.htm
If you are considering home care in Spring Valley, TX, for an aging loved one, please call the caring staff at At Your Side Home Care. We will answer all of your senior care questions. Call today: (832)271-1600.
Our Certified Nurse Aides, 24-Hour Live-in Assistants and Home Health Aides are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We also provide the security and confidence of 24-hour Telephone Assistance, so fast, reliable help is always available when it's needed. To learn more about our homecare services see our homecare services page.
Different people need different levels of homecare. To meet the requirements of our clients, At Your Side Homecare maintains consistent staffing levels of caring professionals. Homecare service is available for as little as a few hours a week, or as many as 24 hours a day, seven days a week
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