Elderly Home Care – Use of Medications Can Present Risks
 

• Use of medications by seniors receiving elderly home care, and seniors in general, are both helpful in treating conditions but also can represent a risk. A recognized problem with medical treatment for seniors, including those receiving elderly home care, is the large number of prescription medications the average older person is taking. Seniors, age 75 and over, receiving elderly home care, have five prescription drug medications and are using at least two over-the-counter medications as well is taking herbal supplements. Due to the impaired ability of the home care senior to “clear” medications from the body, recommended dosages of prescription drugs are generally too much for people receiving elderly home care. This can result in over-dosage and drug reaction and in some cases even death. Home care seniors and their families should be aware that effective elderly home care can be compromised by problems with prescription drug usage. The medical community is well aware of this problem, but finding the right dosage is often a problem because drug reactions are often masked by symptoms of the many chronic medical problems most elderly endure. In addition home care seniors often don’t recognize or they fail to report drug reactions. Another huge problem is that the primary care provider may not be aware of all of the prescriptions being taken by the home care senior and some of these drugs may be causing interaction with each other. Finally, many home care seniors either over-dose or under-dose or fail to take medications.