According to the CDC, 39% of adults over 65 took 5 or more medications in the last 30 days. As an occupational therapist, I have seen firsthand how patients struggle to remain compliant with their medication regime. Patients may need assistance in a myriad of tasks and OTs play a key supportive role to the physician and nursing staff by assessing, assisting and instructing in a variety of areas:
- Ordering new and refill meds in a timely way
- Opening and closing containers
- Removing pills from the containers
- Taking the prescribed quantity
- Taking the medication at the right time
- Understanding what the medication is prescribed to treat
- Knowing when to report problems or adverse effects
The Occupational Therapy Toolkit includes both Treatments Guides and Patient Education Handouts to help your patients with medication management. Over the years, I have compiled a list of other great resources that you can use in your practice or suggest to patients.
Enjoy!
Cheryl Hall, OT
Author and Illustrator
Occupational Therapy Toolkit
Medlineplus.gov
The U. S. National Library of Medicine maintains a comprehensive website on prescription and over-the-counter medications including supplements. This resource includes drug databases, the latest news, journal articles and tutorials, as well as links to other reliable websites and experts.
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Pillbox
The U. S. National Library of Medicine also provides an easy-to-use website to help patients rapidly and reliably identify medications even without the name of the medication.
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Partnership for Prescription Assistance
This free service matches U. S. patients with free or low cost prescription assistance programs and free or low cost clinics. Website is also available in Spanish.
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BenefitsCheckUp®
The National Council on Aging offers BenefitsCheckUp® a comprehensive, free, online tool that connects older adults with medication and health care benefits plus much more including housing and utility assistance, tax relief, veteran benefits, food and nutrition, transportation and much more.
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Epill.com
This commercial website sells a wide range of pill boxes and reminder devices.
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ForgettingthePill.com
This commercial website sells 100’s of personal reminder products to ensure their customers live in good health and maintain independence.
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The Med Center System
This commercial website specializes in medication reminder solutions. Their signature product is a monthly pill organizer with built-in alert system that focuses on the date rather than the day of the week.
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AccuSERV Pharmacy
This pharmacy offers AccuPac®. A patient’s pills are pre-sorted and packaged based on the time of day of the dosage. Each packet is clearly labeled with the medication names and time of dose. There is no additional charge for this service; patients will pay their 30 day co-pay.
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OnTimeRx
This commercial website offers software that delivers timely emails, phone calls, text messages, desktop computer alerts or mobile alerts to keep track of medications or medical testing. Free trials are available before purchase.
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Walgreens App
If your patient is a Walgreen customer, this firm’s award winning app provides medication reminders and automatic refills.
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Mango Health App
This free app, available for Android or Apple platforms, manages medications and lets patients set reminders for healthy habits like blood pressure monitoring.
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CareZone App
This app can manage all your health information including prescription reminders, medication lists, health care appointments and contact information.
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