What are the benefits of treatment for substance use disorders?
The average number of prescribed and over-the-counter medications used by community-dwelling older adults per day in the United States is 6 medications, and the number used by institutionalized ...
Why is medication education important?
Medication Management for Older Adults: 10 important facts . Seniors use more medicines—prescription, over-the-counter and supplements—than any other age group in the U.S.; Older adults often use multiple medicines, increasing the risk of drug interactions and the potential for side effects. Your liver and kidneys may not work as well as when you were younger.
What should be included in patient education about medications?
Teaching older adults. Health promotion is an important activity throughout the life span. Older adults are not too old to stop smoking, start exercising, or change their diets. One of the greatest challenges is to dispel misconceptions about health promotion among older adults. It is important for the nurse to understand normal physiological ...
What are the implications of patient teaching?
Caron’s specialized Older Adults Program addresses addiction along with co-occurring conditions commonly seen in older adults. The program, located at Caron Pennsylvania, is effective for the use of early intervention, treatment, and relapse prevention. We embrace the benefits of a personalized, flexible approach to achieving wellness, adapting our program for a person’s age …
Why is it important to educate patients about their medications?
That's where the importance of medication education for patients comes in. To help patients avoid making medication errors and understand what to do if they have questions or concerns about their medications, clinicians should focus on the following eight areas of medication education.
Why medication management is important in elderly?
Older adults often take multiple medications, vitamins, and supplements to treat different symptoms and health conditions, and this can increase their risk of medication mix-ups. In some cases, these simple mix-ups can become dangerous and even fatal.
How can medication help the elderly?
Use pill boxes This is helpful especially if our loved ones must take several pills multiple times during the day. However, it is important to keep the pill box somewhere in sight instead of hiding it in a drawer. Pill boxes decrease the probability of senior to take wrong pills at wrong day.
What is the most important intervention for older adults?
The most important considerations for creating and implementing interventions that may help older adults satisfy their social needs are: 1) promoting active involvement; 2) showing respect; 3) stimulating social contacts; and 4) sharing knowledge.
What is the importance of taking medication?
Taking your medication as prescribed is important to controlling chronic conditions, treating temporary ones and overall health and well-being.
How does medication affect older adults?
Common side effects of medicines in older adults can be dizziness and falls, weight loss or weight gain, and changes in memory or our ability to think and process information. These, in turn, can cause older adults to get hurt and may ultimately lessen their ability to function in day-to-day life.
How do you help someone with medication management?
Here are our five top tips to help you manage your medications or those of a loved one.Invest in a pillbox or dispenser. ... Set reminders. ... If possible, use a single pharmacy. ... Store your medications properly and take them as recommended. ... Review your medications with your doctor regularly.
What is the role of a caregiver in relation to medication?
Properly prescribing and administering medication means knowing all the facts. Caregivers can actively prevent allergic reactions, crossover reactions, adverse drug reactions and overdoses by educating themselves. (Crossover reactions occur when a care recipient takes incompatible medications).
What are some common considerations to take into account when administering medications to the older adult?
Review current drug therapy.Discontinue unnecessary therapy.Consider adverse drug events for any new symptom.Consider nonpharmacologic approaches.Care in the use of common drugs.Reduce the dose.Simplify the dosing schedule.Prescribe beneficial therapy.
Why is routine important for older adults?
The benefits of establishing and maintaining a routine is an important aspect of caring for seniors. Routines can help maintain function, reduce stress (in both the senior and their caregiver), and allow for improved sleep and ultimately, greater independence.
What are the goals of advocacy with older adults?
Advocacy with older people raises consciousness and helps to organise older people and local communities. NGOs play an important role in increasing older people's level of awareness of the resources available to them, community support, and the opportunities they have to help themselves.
What are intervention to facilitate improvement of functioning of older adults?
Three types of interventions were identified and categorized as cognitive training, physical exercises, and multicomponent interventions. All reviewed studies provided evidence of the effectiveness of interventions in improving older people's ability to perform the activities of daily living.
Assessing Learning Needs For The Older Adult
During all phases of the teaching-leaning process (including assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation), you should focus your attention...
Teaching Strategies to Consider For Older Adults
Consider using specific teaching techniques when providing health teaching for older people. Some elders have increasing difficulty understanding c...
Compensating For Impairments That Interfere With Learning
If the elderly patient has impaired vision, use adequate diffused light, and avoid having the older patient face a direct source of light. If the p...
How many medications do older people take?
Most older Americans (48%) take at least one medication and many older adults take three or more medications each day. Older adults comprise 13% of the U.S. population, but account for 34% of all prescription medicine use and 30% of all over-the-counter (OTC) medicine use.
When to update medication list?
Update the list when you take something new, if a medicine is stopped or if your dosage changes. Your provider should review your medications so you’re only taking those you need. Discuss allergies or problems you’ve had with medicines. Don’t stop taking prescriptions without checking with him/her first.
How does weight affect medicine?
A change in body weight can affect the amount of medicine you need to take. It can also affect how long it stays in your body. The circulation system may slow down, which affects how fast drugs get to the liver and kidneys. The liver and kidneys also may work more slowly.
Why is it so hard to remember instructions?
Increased sensitivity to medicines is more common in older adults. Impaired memory, hearing and vision make it difficult to understand and remember instructions, especially for those with complicated regimens. Many older Americans also face declining grip strength, mobility and memory lapses—all of which can affect the ability to take medication as ...
Why do you need one pharmacy?
Use one pharmacy so your pharmacist can monitor your medications and check for drug interactions.
Do medications stay in the body longer?
As a result, medicines will stay in the body longer. This can cause more severe side effects. Doses must be properly adjusted and monitored. Because of these changes in our body as we age, there is also a higher risk of drug interactions in older adults. Most older Americans (48%) take at least one medication and many older adults take three ...
Do older adults take pain relievers?
Older adults use more pain relievers and use them more often than any other age group. Medicine side effects and interactions between multiple medicines are more common in older adults, so it is important to be aware of certain risks associated with pain relievers and follow instructions for using them safely.
Why is it important to teach older adults?
It is important for the nurse to understand normal physiological changes that occur with age and to know how to adapt teaching strategies to accommodate for normal aging changes.As chronic illnesses become more prevalent after the fifth or sixth decades of life, a majority of health teaching for older adults focuses on illness and disease management. Older people are often coping with varying types of loss, including the loss of a spouse, life-long friends, and individual physical capabilities. It is important to interact with each elderly patient as a unique individual, capable of learning and changing. Patient teaching for older people should be delivered with the same enthusiasm and conviction with which it is provided to younger patients. In addition to specific disease issues or treatment recommendations, many older adults are interested in sexuality and aging, exercise, nutrition, and other topics related to preventing illness and promoting quality of life. The older patient’s barriers to independence should be assessed to help him or her find ways to maximize strengths and promote independence. The nurse is often in an excellent position to help patients follow medical recommendations by providing information, considering patients‘ individual needs, building an awareness of community services that can help lessen social isolation, and helping them maintain their independence.
How to teach elderly people about health?
Consider using specific teaching techniques when providing health teaching for older people. Some elders have increasing difficulty understanding complex sentences, are less proficient than younger people in drawing inferences, and have problems with motor tasks. Present new information at a slower rate than you do for younger patients. Speak in a low tone of voice and allow enough time for the patient to assimilate and integrate conceptual material. Allow plenty of time for the assimilation and integration of conceptual material, and emphasize concrete rather than abstract material. It is important to reduce environmental distractions, both to compensate for any age-related hearing loss and to help the patient with attention and concentration. Group teaching may help some elderly patients increase their health-related problem solving abilities. When suggesting lifestyle changes, be aware that many elderly patients are cautious and may not make changes easily. The implications for patient teaching are that we must take more time in teaching and that we should deliver the educational materials in small increments so that the material can be integrated.
Why do elderly people not follow a treatment plan?
Doing a psychosocial assessment also yields important information about the patient’s ability to follow a recommended treatment plan. There are many reasons why an elderly patient may not follow a treatment plan. The patient may not see that the medical regimen is pertinent to his or her well-being. The patient may simply not choose to make lifestyle changes and instead choose to continue long-standing habits and patterns. The patient may choose not to accept a new treatment regimen based on his or her perceptions of quality vs. quantity of life. Finally, the patient, although willing, may be unable to carry out treatment recommendations. The single most important issue in health care management for many people of advanced age is that of personal resources, including the presence of a support person or caregiver in the home, adequate finances, availability of transportation, and a safe and accessible home environment.
What is the importance of a detailed medical history?
During all phases of the teaching-leaning process (including assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation), you should focus your attention not just on the existing medical problem, but also on the potentially numerous functional and psychosocial problems that are common to old age. A detailed history is a critical part of the assessment. If the patient is not a reliable informant, a family member or significant other should be included. Besides the medical history, a comprehensive social history can identify potential problems with the home environment, support systems, financial resources, and various stresses that may be contributing to the medical problem. An accurate diet history is especially important if the patient is being placed on any kind of diet restriction. It is good practice to ask the elderly patient to bring in all medications, both prescription and over-the-counter, for complete evaluation.
Why is group teaching important?
It is important to reduce environmental distractions, both to compensate for any age-related hearing loss and to help the patient with attention and concentration. Group teaching may help some elderly patients increase their health-related problem solving abilities.
What are the effects of aging on learning?
In addition, there is a normal decline in physical dexterity and endurance. Eighty percent of people over 65 have some form of chronic disease. The effects of chronic diseases , together with the normal changes that occur with aging, may impede learning.
How does a nurse help patients?
The nurse is often in an excellent position to help patients follow medical recommendations by providing information, considering patients‘ individual needs, building an awareness of community services that can help lessen social isolation, and helping them maintain their independence.
What is a multidisciplinary treatment plan?
A multidisciplinary treatment team creates a personalized plan to treat substance abuse, co-occurring disorders, and significant medical issues. The plan includes these components as needed: 1 Treatment of addiction interaction disorders, which include shopping, gambling, sex, spending, eating disorders, etc.#N#icon_check#N#bubble-mini-5#N#bubble-mini-4 2 Daily supportive group therapy to address issues of bereavement, denial, anger, shame, grief and loss of one’s purpose, age-related loss and loneliness.#N#icon_check#N#bubble-mini-5#N#bubble-mini-4 3 Daily assessment by certified nurse assistants based on mobility and medical needs; nursing and medical coverage 24/7.#N#icon_check#N#bubble-mini-5#N#bubble-mini-4 4 Chronic pain management .#N#icon_check#N#bubble-mini-5#N#bubble-mini-4 5 Medication assessment to ensure appropriate prescription and dosage.#N#icon_check#N#bubble-mini-5#N#bubble-mini-4 6 On-site medically supervised detoxification .#N#icon_check#N#bubble-mini-5#N#bubble-mini-4 7 Psychological assessments, which includes cognitive testing and monitoring for improvement.#N#icon_check#N#bubble-mini-5#N#bubble-mini-4 8 Spiritual counseling .#N#icon_check#N#bubble-mini-5#N#bubble-mini-4 9 Relapse prevention.#N#icon_check#N#bubble-mini-5#N#bubble-mini-4 10 Integrative neurofeedback therapy .#N#icon_check#N#bubble-mini-5#N#bubble-mini-4
How many older adults will need substance abuse treatment?
Of the 55 million older adults in the US in 2020, 4.4 million of them will need substance abuse treatment. This issue may go unnoticed by family members and friends. In many cases, even the person with the alcohol or drug problem may not realize the extent of the problem. Being aware of unusual behavior in your loved one is a critical first step in diagnosing a substance use disorder and getting treatment.#N#Caron has provided treatment for substance use disorders for more than 60 years. We know that treatment utilizing dialectical (DBT) and cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT) is most effective in teaching older adults new coping and relationship skills. With specialty groups, we also use modalities such as DBT, CBT, and cognitive processing therapy (CPT), and trauma programming. We use proven behavioral health therapies that preserve dignity, build self-esteem, and develop healthier coping mechanisms.
What is the CDC's Alzheimer's program?
CDC’s Alzheimer’s Disease and Healthy Aging Program works with partners and states to gather information on self-reported cognitive decline and caregiving among adults through the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). To encourage using these data for action, CDC developed an interactive data portal and a series of statistical briefs and infographics.
What is the purpose of the National Diabetes Prevention Program?
Providing CDC-recognized lifestyle change programs to Medicare beneficiaries through the National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
How to help arthritis?
CDC recommends several proven ways to help people manage arthritis symptoms: Join a self-management education program, such as the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, that teaches the skills and confidence to live well with arthritis every day. Be active.
What is the CDC's goal?
CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion funds partners to improve the health of older adults by: Helping those with dementia remain active, independent, and involved in their community as long as possible . Providing resources to help caregivers stay healthy and deliver quality care to their care recipients.
How much does Alzheimer's cost?
In 2019, health care and long-term care costs associated with Alzheimer’s and other dementias were $290 billion, making them some of the costliest conditions to society.
When was the Bold Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act passed?
The BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act was passed into law on December 31, 2018 , Public Law 115-406. BOLD activities are designed to promote use of CDC’s Healthy Brain Initiative Road Maps.
How to help older adults with medication management?
Patient education is a key intervention to assist older adults with medication management. Patient knowledge of drugs is positively associated with adherence.16, 21, 91, 105, 107–112However, older adults require specific educational methods. Learning is more effective in older adults if information is explicit, organized in lists, and in logical order. Instructions that are compatible with the older adults’ schema for taking medications are better remembered,113and well-organized prescription labels are more useful for older adults.114Pictures are not helpful unless the picture is clearly related to the content.115–118A combination of both oral and written formats was identified by older adults as most helpful.119Medication schedules or charts in combination with teaching or counseling enhances patient medication adherence.85, 86, 120–124Four weeks after starting a new medication for a chronic illness, patients identified a substantial need for further information.125Studies have demonstrated that patient education and counseling over several home visits or with followup phone calls produces increased medication adherence in recipients.126–141
How to help older adults remember to take their medications?
There are a number of interventions to assist older adults with remembering to take their medications. One simple method is the use of memory cues that prompt patients to take their medications.148Development of memory cues must be tailored to the patient’s lifestyle.90,164Placing medication in a special place and use of a daily event such as meal time improve medication adherence.91,106,165,166A study that examined the most common ways older adults remembered to take their medications found the following methods to be beneficial: (1) placing containers in a particular location, (2) taking medications in association with meals/bedtime, (3) using a timed pill box, (4) reminders from another person, and (5) using written directions or a check-off list.159
How to increase medication compliance?
Compliance aids such as pill box organizers have been found to increase medication adherence.16,78Medication schedules and calendars are helpful, especially in combination with education and use of a pill box.38,40,78,120,150,167,168In addition, electronic monitoring that provides feedback to the user increases adherence.141,169–171Older patients using a voice-reminder-message medication dispenser were significantly more compliant than those using a pill box or self-administering medications.172,173Patients using topical pilocarpine were significantly more compliant using an electronic medication alarm device.174Programs that use daily telephone reminder calls also have demonstrated increased medication compliance.155,175Several studies have demonstrated that dose simplification from two times a day to one time a day produces higher compliance and improved patient outcomes.122,176–182
What is the purpose of the review of evidence-based interventions?
The purpose of this review was to identify evidence-based interventions related to medication management and the community-dwelling older adult. The focus of this review was interventions that fall within the scope of practice of the registered nurse. The guidelines do not address the specific intervention of medication prescribing. However, the interventions are applicable to professional nurse providers whether they are prescribing or not. This chapter discusses risk factors for problems in medication management followed by evidence-based interventions in areas of medication reconciliation, medication procurement, medication knowledge, physical ability, cognitive capacity, intentional nonadherence, and ongoing monitoring.
Why do older people skip their medication?
A major reason that older adults skip doses or stop taking their medications is related to medication side effects. 9,11,16,26,38,46,89,91,93,110,125,159,161,162,191,195–198In a comparison of compliant and noncompliant patients in fluvastatin treatment, the noncompliant patients were more likely to experience side effects of the medication.199Six months after discharge for acute coronary syndrome, 8 percent of those taking aspirin,12 percent of those taking beta-blockers, 20 percent of those taking ACE inhibitors, and 13 percent of those taking statins had discontinued taking their medications.200
What is medication reconciliation?
Medication reconciliation is a key first step in medication management. Multiple studies have demonstrated large discrepancies in what medications are ordered by the prescribing provider and the actual medications the older adult is taking.
Why do older people delay filling prescriptions?
If the cost of medication is viewed as high, older adults are more likely to not adhere to their medication regimen and be hospital ized.3, 11, 56Lack of funds, especially at the end of the month, is one reason older adults delay filling prescriptions.93In addition, chronically ill older adults are more likely to experience financial burdens associated with covering out-of-pocket costs for their prescription medications, cut back on medications due to cost, and use less medicines monthly.89, 93–98A study of use of medications after an increase in the copayment found a reduction in use of up to 45 percent in nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and 23 percent in antidiabetic drugs.99
How many areas of medication education should clinicians focus on?
To help patients avoid making medication errors and understand what to do if they have questions or concerns about their medications, clinicians should focus on the following eight areas of medication education.
What is the purpose of a medication discussion?
Discuss with patients the intended effects and possible or expected side effects of the medication. This will help patients determine whether a medication is working appropriately. It will also help patients identify undesired side effects that may require intervention.
Why is it important for clinicians to know all they can about a patient's health history?
It's important for clinicians to know all they can about a patient's health history, which includes medications and dietary supplements the patient is on and, in some cases, has previously taken. Patients may not fully appreciate or understand how this information can influence the treatment decisions made by clinicians, including new prescriptions or changes to a medication regimen.
Why is it important to review a medication?
Reviewing this will help patients take their medication appropriately. This is particularly important for medications intended to treat the onset of symptoms , such as headache, nausea, or diarrhea. 2.
What happens if you don't follow prescription instructions?
Instructions. When patients fail to properly follow a prescription's instructions, they risk experiencing the effects of under- or over-dosing. Review new prescription instructions with patients before they complete their visit, then encourage patients to always review instructions before taking medications. Remind patients of the importance of ...
How to make patients more open to open up?
Emphasize the importance of patients speaking up, asking questions, and expressing concerns. Work to create an environment that makes patients more willing to open up. Be sensitive to the possibility that a patient may feel more comfortable speaking with a clinician who shares certain qualities with them, such as gender, religion, race, and age.
Why is medication reconciliation important?
Transition of care is a critical area of management for older adults. This is mainly due to lack of communication between patients, families, and providers.
What is polypharmacy in medicine?
Polypharmacy, use of multiple medications to treat chronic comorbid conditions in older adults (persons over age 65), has been described in the literature as a potential cause for an increase in drug–drug interactions, injurious falls, hospitalization, and morbidity.
How does aging affect pharmacokinetics?
Pharmacokinetics involves the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of medications . In older adults, absorption from the gastrointestinal tract is not significantly affected. There may be delays in achieving peak drug levels, but there is no clinically significant decrease in total absorption. Decreased absorption from intramuscular injections or transdermal patches may occur due to decreased blood perfusion to muscles and skin, so it is important to monitor the clinical effects of the medication and adjust the dosage form if necessary. Distribution of medications in the body depends on whether the medication is water-soluble or lipid-soluble. With age, there is an increase in body fat. Therefore, the volume of distribution for lipid-soluble medications is increased in older adults. The clinical significance of this is that a lipid-soluble medication will accumulate in the body fat and when the medication is discontinued, will take longer to be totally eliminated from the body ( Delafuente, 2008 ). Liver function may be decreased in older adults and some metabolic pathways can be decreased. For drugs metabolized to inactive metabolites, it is advised to start with the lowest possible dose when metabolism is decreased. Most significantly, renal function is generally decreased in older adults. Therefore, medications that are excreted unchanged in the urine will have a prolonged half-life. Medications excreted by the kidneys will often need to have dosage reductions in older adults. It is important to estimate creatinine clearance before initiating medications excreted by the kidneys.
What are the implications of the aging population?
With this population comes medical complexity including cognitive impairment, and diagnoses such as congestive heart failure and diabetes.
Does lipid soluble medication increase in older adults?
Therefore, the volume of distribution for lipid-soluble medications is increased in older adults. The clinical significance of this is that a lipid-soluble medication will accumulate in the body fat and when the medication is discontinued, will take longer to be totally eliminated from the body ( Delafuente, 2008 ).
Do medications have a half life?
Therefore, medications that are excreted unchanged in the urine will have a prolonged half-life. Medications excreted by the kidneys will often need to have dosage reductions in older adults. It is important to estimate creatinine clearance before initiating medications excreted by the kidneys.
What does a prescribed medication do?
The prescribed medication operates to normalize brain chemistry, block the euphoric effects of alcohol and opioids, relieve physiological cravings, and normalize body functions without the negative and euphoric effects of the substance used.
How to contact the Opioid Treatment Program Extranet?
For assistance with the Opioid Treatment Program Extranet, contact the OTP helpdesk at [email protected]. (link sends email) or 1-866-348-5741. Contact SAMHSA’s regional OTP Compliance Officers to determine if an OTP is qualified to provide treatment for substance use disorders. Last Updated.
What is MAT approved for?
Medications used in MAT are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and MAT programs are clinically driven and tailored to meet each patient’s needs. Research shows that a combination of medication and therapy can successfully treat these disorders, and for some people struggling with addiction, MAT can help sustain recovery.
What is the SAMHSA brochure?
SAMHSA produced a brochure designed to assist MAT patients and to educate and inform others (PDF | 415 KB). Under the Confidentiality Regulation, 42 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 2, personally identifiable health information relating to substance use and alcohol treatment must be handled with a higher degree of confidentiality than other medical information.
Why is naloxone used?
Naloxone is used to prevent opioid overdose by reversing the toxic effects of the overdose. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), naloxone is one of a number of medications considered essential to a functioning health care system. (link is external) .
What is the best medication for alcohol use disorder?
Acamprosate, disulfiram, and naltrexone are the most common medications used to treat alcohol use disorder. They do not provide a cure for the disorder, but are most effective in people who participate in a MAT program. Learn more about the impact of alcohol misuse.
How to contact SAMHSA for buprenorphine waiver?
Contact Us. For information on buprenorphine waiver processing, contact the SAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) at 866- BUP-CSAT (866-287-2728) or [email protected]. (link sends email)