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How To Manage Senior Citizens Prescription Drugs
from: Kyle BesserMore than 2 million drug related errors adversely affect senior Americans every year. These drug related errors often result in trips to the emergency room, expensive hospitalization and potential long term senior health problems as a result of medication errors. There are specific precautions that seniors, their adult children and caregivers can take to prevent mishaps related to senior citizens pharmacy health plan management.
Prescription Solutions is a national pharmacy benefit management company that manages senior citizens pharmacy health plan prescription drug benefits for millions of older Americans. The experts at Prescription Solutions, including pharmacists, nurses and physicians, recommend the following steps for senior citizens pharmacy health plan management to make sure seniors are using prescription drugs properly and economizing in ways that are safe and not harmful.
Follow these steps for senior citizens pharmacy health plan management for safe and proper care and use of senior citizens prescription drugs:
1. Review your current prescription medications at least once a year with your primary care doctor to verify that each medication is still useful and appropriate and to ensure that the combination of medications is safe.
2. Store medications properly at home. Many people keep medications in the bathroom medicine cabinet where they can get damp and lose potency. A dry place such as a kitchen cabinet or bedroom is a better storage location as long as the medications are out of reach of children or safely locked away.
3. Keep your medications in the correct bottle. Don't mix different medications in the same bottle to save space or for traveling. Check medications several times a year to make sure they have not expired.
4. Dispose of old and expired medications properly by flushing them down a toilet. Don't throw old and expired medications in the trash where a child might find and ingest them.
5. Develop a relationship with your local pharmacist to consult with questions about the proper use of medications and possible drug interactions. If you are using a mail order pharmacy, you can consult with one of the pharmacists by phone.
6. For chronic conditions, find out if your senior citizens prescription drugs plan offers a mail order pharmacy for refills of medications. Mail pharmacy service offers a number of attractive features for senior citizens prescription drugs plans:
*Safety. Because the mail service facility will keep a record of other prescriptions that you are taking, pharmacists can check for potential drug interactions before a new prescription drug is dispensed.
*Cost savings. By ordering from mail pharmacy service, seniors can receive a 90 day supply of medications for treatments of chronic conditions versus the typical 30 day supply from local pharmacies. This will save money by having fewer co-pays on senior citizens prescription drugs plans when prescriptions are filled.
*Convenience. Prescription drugs can be ordered from the mail pharmacy service by telephone, mail or online. This is a great convenience for many seniors whose mobility may be limited when senior citizens prescription drugs plans allow mail pharmacy service.
7. Find out from your pharmacist or physician about the possibility of taking generic drugs as opposed to brand-name drugs. A generic prescription drug that is deemed therapeutically equivalent to a brand-name prescription drug may be considerably more affordable.
8. Check with your senior citizens prescription drugs plan to see if they offer other cost saving opportunities such as senior discount cards for prescriptions or over-the-counter medications at the local pharmacy.
9. Although it may appear to be an attractive way to save money for senior citizens prescription drugs plans, do not order prescription drugs online from unknown web sites. Order only from a web site of your own senior citizens prescription drugs plan or from a retail pharmacy that provides password protection for its members. Unknown online pharmacies may not be licensed or staffed by actual pharmacists, and there are no guarantees that the medications will be effective, be the correct dose, or even be the drug they are advertised to be.
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