Many people take a lot of medications (also referred to as “drugs” or “meds”). This is especially true of someone who has a disability or chronic and serious illness. When taken correctly, medications can relieve symptoms, improve how someone feels, and may even save the person’s life. As a family caregiver, one of the things you do for your family member is “medication management”— making sure that he or she takes the right medication, at the right time, and in the right dosage. This guide has facts to help you do this job well. A Medication Management Form is included to help you keep track of necessary information. In addition, there are videos which supplement the guide.
Medication Management Guide
Managing medication is hard. To help, Next Step in Care and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) partnered to create videos about medication management:
Disposing of Medications:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has easy-to-follow directions on how to dispose of unused medications. Some medications should be flushed down the toilet, others should be put into the garbage. A summary is here. More details, including a listing of what specific medications should be flushed, is here.