What is Medicare?

Medicare is the federal government program that gives you health care coverage if you are 65 or older, or under 65 and have a disability, no matter what your income.

Part A – Hospital insurance
Covers hospital, skilled nursing, home health and hospice care
Free if you have worked and paid SS taxes for 40 quarters/10 years

Part B – Medical insurance
Covers Doctors services, preventative care, Durable medical equipment, outpatient, lab tests, x-rays, mental health care, some home health and ambulance services
You pay a monthly premium for this.

Part C – Not a separate benefit
Policy that allows private health insurance companies to provide Medicare benefits.

Part D – Prescription drug insurance.
Provides outpatient prescription drug coverage.
Provided on through private insurance companies that have contract through the government.

Medication Management

They say that the memory is the second thing to go. What's the first? Well the truth is I can't remember. Let's face it, the older we get the harder it is to remember the simple things. Whether it's where you left your car keys or the name of that actor from a movie you saw last weekend last, it happens to all of us. Usually my mother calls me by my brothers name first then quickly corrects herself and calls me by my dads name and then again corrects herself and finally calls me by my name. Every once in a while she might even throw the dog's name in there if it is a really rough day(The dog's been gone for 17 years). It's easy to forget simple things, especially when it comes to medication.

Medication mismanagement is one of the leading causes of hospitalization for the elderly population in our country. Experts say that more than half of the elderly population mismanages their medication. Although people over the age of 65 represent about 13% of our population, they consume about 1/3 of all medication perscribed in the United States.

So what can we do to make med management easier? The good news is that there are few choices depending on the severity of a clients noncompliance issues.

For someone who might just be a little forgetful a simple pillbox might be the solution. They are inexpensive or even free if you know where to look and are simple enough to use that they should stop a lot of the confusion.

Now for someone who might be suffering from dimentia or alzheimer's, a more advanced approach is probably needed. There are a lot of options for pill dispensers. What's important is to figure out which options are right for the user. Some people might need to have the dispenser under lock and key due to medication overdose. Some people might want to be notified if a pill is missed. The iMD Alert Response medication dispenser is the cadillac of the industry. It provides medication to a client up to 6 times a day and is monitored by a live person 24 hours a day. If the client misses a dose then immediately the monitoring center will call them and and/or the family and notify someone there might be an issue. The iMD cuts noncompliance issues by 98%. But remember that research is key in a situation like this. A quality medication dispenser can keep a client independent and in there home for a longer period of time but you need to make sure you choose the right one for your loved one.

A third and the most costly option is a live in or visiting nurse, or an assisted living facility where the client can be monitored more closely. For clients with severe dimentia this may be the only option. If you do have to go this route make sure that you interview multiple nurses or facilities to find the one that will best take care of your loved one.

If you do have any questions feel free to view our website and contact us. We might not have the service you need but more than likely we can point you in the right direction. http://www.alertresponse.com/