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Seniors oftten skip meds

3 min read

Dear Doctor K: My mother is supposed to take several medications each day, but she doesn’t take them consistently. What can I do to get her back on track?

Dear Reader: I’ll bet when you were a kid and your parents were hounding you about taking your medicine, you never imagined a day would come when you’d be doing the same to them.

Nearly three out of four Americans report that they do not always take their medication as directed. So there are a lot of people who are in the same position as your mother. And, obviously, for the medicines to work, a person’s got to take them.

I don’t know your mother, so I don’t know why she isn’t taking her medications as she should. But I can tell you about some reasons my patients have shared with me for not taking theirs.

One of the biggest issues is cost. People are often prescribed a brand-name drug that they can’t afford. If cost is an issue for your mother, she should talk to her doctor or pharmacist. A generic alternative may be just as effective.

If your mother is on Medicare and hasn’t enrolled in the Medicare drug program (called Part D), suggest that she check into that. It may be able to cover a big fraction of her drug costs for relatively little money (compared to the cost of the drugs).

Another reason people don’t take their medicines as directed is the fact that many older people are on multiple medicines. It can be hard to keep track of what to take, and when. Many people simply forget.

If you think that may be a problem, suggest strategies to help your mother stay on schedule.

For example, she can use a seven-day pillbox; set alarms on her watch, phone or clock; or make a chart that shows when to take which medicine.

If your mom uses a computer or smartphone, a medication management app could help. These apps organize pill information and remind you when to take them.

There also are automatic pill dispensers that pop out the right pills at the right times.

Many pharmacies offer programs to call and remind you to get a prescription refilled. Other programs estimate when you’ll finish a medication and automatically refill the prescription, then remind you to pick it up.

Maybe side effects are a problem. If so, encourage your mother to talk to her doctor. The doctor may be able to switch the medication or adjust the dose to eliminate the side effects, or at least make them more manageable.

Finally, I’ve found that my patients are more likely to take their medications if they understand why they need them.

When a doctor hands you a prescription, he or she should make sure you understand what it’s for and what will happen to you if you don’t take it.

Your mother should not hesitate to ask for this information — even if she has been taking a particular drug for years.

Dr. Komaroff is a physician and professor at Harvard Medical School. To send questions, go to AskDoctorK.com, or write: Ask Doctor K, 10 Shattuck St., Second Floor, Boston, MA 02115.

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