People with Dementia lose their cognitive abilities and as a result find it difficult to perform everyday work like getting dressed, keeping track of their medications and paying bills. And this is one of the main reasons they move into assisted living facilities. If you are managing an assisted living facility, here are a few useful insights for you on medication management for residents with Dementia.
1. Identifying the goals of care: Because the goals vary depending on the stage of dementia, the caregivers must closely work with the resident’s health care provider to prepare an effective medication management plan. For instance, in some cases medicines that seemed appropriate for the early stages of dementia may not be necessary during the late stages. Hence, it’s important to assess the goals every 5-6 months and document properly. The goals should also be communicated to all team members and easily accessible.
2. Medication safety and efficacy: To ensure safe and effective medication administration, the care staff must be provided regular training. They need to have a proper understanding on how prescribed medications can interact with different medicines that the residents are taking such as – herbal therapies and over-the-counter medications. They will also need training on how to know when the prescribed medications are effective. They must be provided training on responding to side effects. Also, take steps to simplify and streamline the medication administration process. Electronic mar – a hand-held electronic medical records software can be very helpful in this process. It is perfect for assisted living facilities where compliance and security are vital. The intuitive design of the system makes the transition to eMAR from Mar sheets easy. To know how the digital MAR sheet template works, book a demo today.
3. Insure that the doctor’s appointments are not missed: The care staff must schedule the follow-up visits as specified by the doctor. Also, they need to book the right mode of transportation (they can book a taxi, a wheelchair van or a medical van depending on the resident’s medical condition) to help the senior travel to the doctor’s clinic.
4. Administering the medicine the right way: In addition to following the 5Rs of medication administration, the care staff has to take certain precautions while taking care of the residents with Dementia. While giving them the pill, they have to give the residents proper instructions in a calm and clear voice. For instance, while giving them medicine for pain management, they can say “Here’s the pill for your joint pain. Put it in your mouth. Now have a glass of water and let the pill go down.”
