When it comes to medication, knowing about the medicines is critical to avoid side effects. As a caregiver, you will be responsible for the person’s medication management, which requires you to be aware of the medicines. A professional caregiver ensures the patient takes all prescribed medication correctly, in the correct dosage, and on time. A caregiver needs to have proper medication management skills.
Irrespective of the job as a caregiver, medication management is always one of your responsibilities: making medication management an integral part of caregiving. If you are interested in learning more about it, check out this 2-day medication management program. In this program, you will discover a proper way of administering medication to patients, upskilling yourself as a professional caregiver.
What Can You Do For Proper Medication Management For Your Patients?
- Making a complete care plan for patients
As a caregiver, you must attend all doctor appointments with the patient to understand the patient’s health condition and the details of the prescribed medication. It is always best to understand everything about the prescription, like – dosage, timing, etc., from the doctor. While going for an appointment, you must carry the complete list of all the prescribed, un-prescribed supplements and herbs the patient is on. Make sure you understand what each medicine is for. Never forget to ask if there are any medicines in case of an emergency. All this will help you gather important information for medication management.
- Always keep the stock filled
Make sure that all the medicines are timely refilled and that you never run out. For this, it is best to keep track of the medicine stock. Doing this will allow you to pre-plan the appointments with the doctor.
- Be cautious of drug interactions
Since many patients suffer from different problems, they have multiple medications. It is crucial to understand the risk of drug interaction, if there. Some drug interactions can cause severe problems. Therefore, it is prudent that you ask the doctor about drug-drug interactions, drug-alcohol interactions, and drug-food interactions that you need to be cautious about. Knowing all this will allow you to create a good medication management plan for the patient.
- Organize all the medicines properly
As a caregiver, another essential part of medication management you must look after is proper organization. You must keep an up-to-date list of all the medicines, store them appropriately, and always check the expiry date before administering them. It is also wise to build a personalized system to track all medications.
- Timely administration of medicines
It is not rocket science to administer medicines, but it is not as easy. It is essential to build a system of medication to track them every day. Make sure to keep all medicines together and use alarms or reminders to ensure the medication system works appropriately. Giving medicines on time is another responsibility of a caregiver.
Bottom line
These are a few things that you, as a caregiver, need to take care of. With proper medication management, you can avoid some severe issues that might occur. With our 2-day medication management course, you will learn everything from medication storage, administration, and building the right system.
