Medication Management for Seniors – The Impact on Society of Med Noncompliance

According to PhRMA (Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America), more than 75% of adult Americans who take three or more medicines daily are non-compliant with taking their medications properly. More than half of our seniors who take multiple medications (and one in four of them take 10-19 mediations each day) either forget to take the correct dose or fail in some other manner to take the right medication. While we can see for ourselves the impact this can have on our loved ones, did you know that the economic impact to our society is in excess of $100 billion each year?

Medication non-compliance puts even more stress on an already over-burdened healthcare system, adding to the costs of healthcare and contributing to steadily rising insurance costs. It stretches our Medicare and Medicaid resources, and the demand causes even more shortages of healthcare professionals.

Wow. And it’s not just the dollars and cents – medication non-compliance kills more of our seniors every year than accidents, flu and pneumonia combined – it’s the leading cause of death of senior citizens in America.

Reasons from forgetfulness to fear of drugs and the high cost of prescriptions all lend to seniors not taking medications correctly.
What can we do? First, if we have an elderly family member, we should take extra precautions to make sure that they fill the right prescriptions and take both over-the-counter and prescription meds as directed. We may need to accompany them to doctor’s visits, engage a caregiver, or purchase medical alert systems that help with reminders and dosages.

We should also get involved with our neighbors – a simple welfare check every now and then on an elderly neighbor could mean a world of difference in making sure their loved ones or physicians are aware of any problems they are having with medications.

With such a systemic problem, we all have a certain responsibility to make sure that family members, friends and neighbors are educated in where to find help for taking medications properly. Many studies show that people who live alone are more likely to have problems with taking their medications as they should. We should all take more notice of our elderly neighbors who are by themselves.

Medication non-compliance is so widespread that it will take all of us to help solve the issues involved – not just the medical or care-giving communities. A study by PhRMA found that patients who regularly took their medications as prescribed significantly reduced their total health care spending and lowered the number of emergency room visits and the number of days a patient spent in the hospital.

If you have concerns about an older adult’s willingness or ability to take the right medications, speak up and let the people who care for them know. If your own family member is having a hard time taking their medications, take steps through technology or the family doctor to create a routine that will help your loved ones stay compliant with the doctor’s orders. It helps each and every one of us!

Get Smart About Senior Care Costs

There are a variety of options available for any budget.

It's never too early to plan care for an aging loved one.
Before their health begins to decline, you and your family
need to agree on the kind of care they need, and how it will
be paid for.

To get an idea of the average costs of popular senior care
options, see below. And keep in mind that while your loved
one may be fine with occasional care now, they could need
more serious and expensive care in the future.

So, How much does it cost?

In-Home Technology
Personal Emergency Response (Medical Alarm)
Allows your loved one to age in place while having the ability to summon help 24 hours a day in the event of an emergency.
Cost:$37 per month.

Medication Management via a monitored medication dispenser
Dispenses medication up to 4 times per day. In the event of a missed dosage the unit notifies a live operator who then notifies family members or caregivers of the missed dosage.
Cost :47 per month.

In-Home Care
Enables your loved one to stay at home throughout every stage
of aging.
Cost: $29 per hour on average, but costs vary. (Source: U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services).

Assisted Living
Offers your loved one an independent lifestyle, with trained
personnel on the premises to attend to their needs.
Cost: $36,372 per year (Source: MetLife Market Survey of
Nursing Home and Assisted Living Costs).

Nursing Homes
For elders who cannot care for themselves or have
significant medical issues that require round-the-clock
care.
Cost: Private room, $77,380; semi-private room, $69,715
(Source: MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home and
Assisted Living Cost).

Occasional Care
Periodic assistance with lawn care, transportation, and
grocery shopping. Cost varies according to need.

Thank you ElderCarelink

Dealer Conference

I just returned from the annual dealer conference in Ohio and I feel excited and rejuvinated. It's always great to meet with other leaders in the medical alarm industry and visit with them about the positives and negatives of our always changing industry. I came away with great ideas on how to better serve our current clients and ways to offer our services to a broader range of users.
This year was especially beneficial due to the addition of the trade show. Home technology dealers from all over the country were brought in to show off the latest and greatest technologies. A few that impressed me were-
1. SimplyHome which is a comprehensive home monitoring system that along with basic personal emergency response it also can monitor doors, windows, oven/stoves, medicine cabinets as well as many other things. www.simply-home.com.
2. LogicMark which is pioneering the way for voice to voice pendant services. We currently offer this and have had good success with it.
3. The Care Watch or the LF500 which is a all in one two way voice watch or pendant that has GPS so a client can be located anywhere in the country. Alert Response will have this available hopefully within the next 1-3 months.

Overall it was a very informative trip and although I had to leave my new born and 22 month old boys with my wife for 3 days I think it was well worth it.

Who can help?

Resources you may not know...but you should.

One of the reasons I love this industry and the work we do is because everyone is different and every situtation is unique. All of our clients have different wants, different needs and definately different stories. Some of their needs we can meet but some we have to refer out. As part of our ongoing attempt at education, I want to provide you with a few helpful programs and agencies that may provide assistance in some of those unique situations.

First is the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program or LIHEAP. Their mission is to assist low income households, particularly those with the lowest incomes that pay a high proportion of household income for home energy, primarily in meeting their immediate home energy needs.

Second is the The Partnership for Prescription Assistance which brings together America's pharmaceutical companies, doctors, other health care providers, patient advocacy organizations and community groups to help qualifying patients who lack prescription coverage get the medicines they need through the public or private program that's right for them. Many will get them free or nearly free.

Lastly but one of the best local agencies in this area is the North Central Texas Area Agency on Aging. The North Central Texas AAA is a program of the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG). It plans, coordinates and delivers services to persons age 60 and over and their family caregivers who live in Collin, Denton, Ellis, Erath, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Navarro, Palo Pinto, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell and Wise counties.

In the months to come I will be adding more programs and agencies to this list. If you have any suggestions please feel free to email them over to me at matt@alertresponse.com. I would love to share them with other people from our industry.

You can visit our website you you need more information on emergency response or medication management. www.alertresponse.com

Signs that your loved one might need help

Next time you are visting a friend or relative, spend some time checking for signs that they might need help. Often times older adults in an effort to remain independent try to hide things that might cause concern for loved ones. Use the list below to help spot issues that might raise a red flag.

a. Daily housework not being performed
i. Tired
ii. Overwhelmed
iii. Forgetting

b. Mail piling up
i. Overwhelmed with amount of mail
ii. Constant letters from people asking for donations

c. Bills not being paid
i. Checking account not balanced
ii. Services being shut off

d. Weight loss
i. Shopping and food preparation not being done
ii. Eating habits changing

e. No food in refrigerator or spoiled food

f. Kitchen in disarray
i. Dishes piling up
ii. Pots with burned bottoms
iii. Water and mildew stains where water was left on
iv. Food left out

g. Poor hygiene
i. Wearing same clothing
ii. Not bathing regularly

h. Inappropriate clothing
i. Unseasonal clothes worn i.e. bathing suit in winter or sweater in the summer
ii. Clothes left off

i. Missing scheduled events
i. Church
ii. Doctors appointments
iii. Medications

j. Acting strange
i. Unusual conversations
ii. Phone calls at odd times
iii. Strange anxiety or nervousness

k. Depression
i. Sleep disturbances (difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, oversleeping, or daytime sleepiness)
ii. Sadness
iii. Fatigue
iv. Abandoning or losing interest in hobbies or other pleasurable pastimes
v. Social withdrawal and isolation (reluctance to be with friends, engage in activities, or leave home)
vi. Weight loss; loss of appetite
vii. Loss of self-worth (worries about being a burden, feelings of worthlessness, self-loathing)
viii. Increased use of alcohol or other drugs
ix. Fixation on death; suicidal thoughts or attempts

If you have concerns feel free to contact our office, 972.318.0161, or visit us online at www.alertresponse.com.

Holiday Realization

The holiday season is in full swing. The radio is playing all of the classic holiday songs, toy drives and seasonal sales are constantly beaconing, we have even seen snow here in North Texas. It is during this time of year that we often get to spend extended time with family and friends.
For those of us with aging family members this time with them can be very telling. What we might have missed during a quick visit can suddenly become apparent. I recently experience this with a family member. After spending a weekend together I realized the extent of her disabilty was broader than I had known. She was struggling to accomplish simple tasks and to make mundane decisions.
So the question is when you realize a parent or family member is struggling what can you do. The silver lining is that we are not alone. Numerous families are asking themselves this same question, so the resources are out there.
We previously posted a checklist titled Signs Your Loved One Might Need Help. It is not all encompassing, but it is a good place to start.
If you feel that your loved one is in need of assistance please check out some of the resources we have listed on the right side of the page or feel free to contact our office. We will be glad to help you find the help your family needs. Happy Holidays from all of us here at Alert Response.

Increased Security

No, we haven't started offering body guard detail, but we are increasing security here at Alert Response. We are excited to now offer vital signs monitoring in addition to emergency response and medication management.
Vital signs monitoring increases security and independence for individuals with a wide range of illnesses by allowing them to communicate daily with their doctors and health care providers while remaining in the comfort of their own home.
Vital signs are monitored through an easy to use modem that connects to the client’s phone jack. Each day the client takes their vitals and with the push of a button that information is communicated to the Care Center. If the client’s vital signs are out of line with set expectations or if vital signs are not received the client or necessary health professionals are contacted.

Blood pressure, pulse, blood oxygen levels, weight, blood sugar, glucose and exhalation can all be monitored. This is imperative for patients with a wide range of illnesses including, but not limited to diabetes, congestive heart failure, hypertension, asthma, and COPD.
Contact us today to see if Vital Sign Monitoring can provide security for you, your loved ones, or clients.

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/

Staying on your feet

As we grow older falling becomes a part of a lot of peoples lives and the aftermath of a fall can be very traumatic and costly. People who have fallen often spend weeks and sometimes months in the hospital trying to recover physically and mentally. Rehab centers are full of people spending hours upon hours in physical therapy to regain strength and confidence. I have heard horror stories of healthy older people falling and spending 12 or 15 hours laying on a bathroom floor or out on the back patio with no way to get help.

So what can we do? Well the best way to combat a fall is to try and prevent a fall. There a minor things we can do order to make our home safer and easier to ambulate around. Some of them might seem like common sense but they are still things people might not think about. Below is a list that might help you or a loved one prevent a fall sometime in the future.

1. In the mornings make sure you take your time getting up. All too often people wake up and immediately stand and begin to walk to the kitchen or bathroom. This can cause dizziness and sometimes blackouts. Give yourself time to sit up in bed and move your feet to the floor. Spend a couple minutes sitting in the upright position and then stand. If you are not feeling normal then sit down and wait a few more minutes and try again. Have a cane, walker, or some sort of aid to help in case you do not feel 100%.

2. Eliminate potential hazards. Below is a list of items that you may not have thought about but could potentially cause a fall.
-Wet floors
-Loose mats on slippery floors
-Dusty floors
-Sloped floors and uneven surfaces
-Loose or worn carpet and flooring
-Cables or wiring crossing a walking path
-Clutter in hallways and walkways

3. Medication management. Medication mismanagement is a big problem in the aging community and is the cause of a countless number of falls. Check with doctors and make sure the prescribed medications you are taking are not going to affect balance. Make sure the correct dosages are being taken and at the right times.

4. Understand limitations and don't be afraid to ask for help. If a light bulb needs to be changed or something heavy needs to be moved then ask for help. I can't tell you the amount of light bulbs I changed in the 5 years of installing emergency response units for the elderly.

5. Embrace technology. Because of the speed at which technology advances people become intimidated by new products. A lot of the products in the gerontological industry are meant to assist clients in being safe. Consult a caregiver or nurse and find out what products might be helpful. An emergency response button might not prevent a fall but it can build peace of mind and confidence knowing that if there is a fall then help is just a touch of a button away.

If you have any questions please visit us at http://www.alertresponse.com/ or call our office.

"Young men think old men are fools; but old men know young men are fools."
-George Chapman

Thanks for reading,
Matt