What is Medication Management?
Our Medication Management Services provide assistance on 3 different levels:
- A simple text message reminder can be provided as part of our Basic Alert Service
- For clients who would like a little more assistance, we can provide a Medication Compliance Operator Check-in service. This works the same as the operator check-ins for Wellness, Nutrition, and Health Testing
- For those needing more help, we can provide a Medication Dispensing service which notifies our operator if a medication is ever missed
How Does Medication Management Work?
The text messaging feature of our Basic Alert Service allows us to customize the message. In this case for a medication reminder we could program a message saying:
- Time to take your medication
- Take your blood pressure meds
- Or any other relevant message
If the Operator Check-in for Medication Compliance is desired, we program the console to say “Time to Take Your Medication”. Just like all check-ins, we program the system with a time allowance to give our client adequate time to recognize the message and take their medication. The ‘check’ button can then be pushed to end the check-in process. If, however, the time period expires without the ‘check’ button being pressed, the operator will become engaged and will talk to our clients and walk them through the process of taking the medication.
The Medication Dispensing service includes an additional piece of equipment featuring a rotating tray with 28 compartments. Each compartment can accommodate up to 8 or 9 average-size pills. Prescription medication, over-the-counter supplements, or vitamins can be used in the dispenser. At the time a medication is to be taken, our dispenser will emit a beeping sound to alert our client. We can set up a time allowance of 3, 30, 45, 60, or 90 minutes for the medication to be taken, but if that time period elapses without the door to the dispenser being opened, the dispenser sends a wireless signal to the console which in turn dials into our monitoring center and invokes our operator for personal assistance. Just like our operator check-ins, if there is no response from our client the operator will call those on the contact list to notify them of a missed medication and their loved one is not responding.
Our easy-to-use medication dispensers allow a family member or caregiver to simply load the medications and program the timer. Our operators will be notified if medication is missed, ensuring a high rate of medical adherence.
How Does Medication Management Help?
Research conducted by the American Medical Association states:
- 60% of seniors make regular and at times daily mistakes with their medication.
- 35% of seniors make critical sometimes life-threatening mistakes with their medication.
Additional research shows:
- 55% of older adults do not follow, in some way, their medication regimen (Amarai, 1986).
- Medication non-adherence accounts for more than 10% of older adult hospital admissions (Vermiere, 2001).
- Medication non-adherence costs the US healthcare system approximately $290 billion a year or 13% of all spending (New England Health Institute).
Safe Living Technologies’ medication dispensers make it easy for senior citizens to adhere to prescription medication regimens as prescribed by their doctors. Failure to take medications as recommended can lead to hospital visits and increased medical bills, but is easily preventable by utilizing our medication dispensers.
Testing has shown that medication compliance can be greatly improved with our event-based and operator intervention service.