Why Medication Management Is Essential For Seniors: avoiding medication errors…

You may have become used to seeing multiple bottles of pills or other medications on your aging parent’s cabinet or counter, but polypharmacy — the regular use of five or more medications — can pose a serious health risk to seniors. Each year, about 350,000 people are hospitalized after visits to the emergency room because of adverse, or harmful, drug events, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Medication management is an important preventive measure to avoid potentially serious health hazards in seniors. Older adults often take multiple medications, vitamins, and supplements to treat different symptoms and health conditions, which can increase their risk of medication mix-ups. In some cases, these simple mistakes can become dangerous and even fatal.