According to the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), more than 70% of the elderly in Hong Kong suffer from chronic diseases, and more than 60% of them need to take medication on a long-term basis. Many of them are taking several to dozens of medications because of chronic diseases such as the "three highs and one low" (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia and low bone mineral density) at the same time. Elderly people taking five or more medications at the same time are easily confused about the types and dosages of the medications. In addition, doctors and pharmacists do not have the time to explain the use of drugs and how to take them. Elderly people who do not have a thorough understanding of the drugs will also be less compliant with the drugs, thus affecting the efficacy of the drugs and causing adverse reactions in the elderly. According to the HA, about 40% of patients aged 65 or above are taking five or more drugs at the same time.
A typical example is 76-year-old Mrs. Chiu, who had a stroke, suffers from high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, and has to take a variety of medications every day to control her condition.
"I am 69 years old. I had a stroke and I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. I have to take many kinds of medicines every day, but I don't remember to take them or I take them wrongly all the time. I don't know the effects and precautions of each medicine well. I feel so helpless, no one can help me to manage my medication.
It was not until I met a staff member of Sunyu Academy who told me that an organization had launched an elderly drug use support and education program suitable for elders with problems like mine. The program provides one-on-one services for three years to elderly people aged 65 or above who are suffering from two or more chronic diseases and are prescribed five or more drugs.
If I join the program, a professional pharmacist will meet with me for an evaluation and provide me with medication counseling and organizing services. They will help me create a complete medical history and medication list, help me put my medications in the pill box according to the dosage schedule, and follow up on my condition regularly. This will help me to better control my condition and minimize the risk of taking the wrong medication or missing a dose.
In addition, the program provides thematic drug seminars and basic drug management certificate courses for the elderly aged between 60 and 69, which can teach them the basic knowledge of medication and facilitate them to manage their own health, so as to achieve the goal of "Manage your own health, Manage your own health".
After listening, I am very interested. I would like to know the side effects of the medication I take and what I need to pay attention to. I would also like to know how I can manage my medication better to avoid any mistake or confusion. I think this program is very helpful to my health, and it makes me feel more at ease. Therefore, I decided to join the program on the recommendation of the staff of Sunyu Academy.
Later, I met with a pharmacist at my home under the program's arrangement and was told that I had a problem with my medication storage. The pharmacist told me that I had a problem with storing my medication, and that I had mistakenly put my cholesterol medication in my aspirin bag, which made it easy for me to take the wrong medication. I put the wrong medication back into the correct bag, wrote "aspirin" and "cholesterol" in large letters on a Post-it note, and covered the label with plastic tape. He also explained to me that taking too much aspirin would easily cause bleeding.
In addition, since the diabetes pills are too big, I would break the pills in half every time in order to swallow them smoothly. However, the pharmacist told me that I should not break the pill in half when I take this long-acting diabetes medicine. This is because the pills have a protective film which breaks down slowly under stomach acid. If the pills are broken up, the medicine will be released too quickly and this will affect the efficacy of the medicine. The pharmacist immediately wrote me a note explaining that I had difficulty swallowing when taking the medication, and said that there were many choices of medications with the same ingredients, so I could try to ask my doctor to prescribe another similar but smaller medication.
The pharmacist also helped me to separate my medications into morning, mid-day and evening sessions and put them into three different colored pill boxes. He said that this would minimize the chance of forgetting or mixing up my medications. Since joining this program, I feel that it has become easier for me to take my medication. I don't have to worry about taking the wrong medication or missing a pill anymore, and I know how the medication works and how to take it properly.
Besides, I have also attended the thematic drug seminars for the elderly and the Basic Medication Management Certificate Course, which enabled me to learn the basic knowledge of medication and manage my health conveniently! I am so grateful to the staff of Sunyu Academy and the pharmacists of this program."
According to the population census conducted by the Government the year before last, there are more than 1.45 million elderly people aged 65 or above in Hong Kong, with more than 70% of them suffering from at least one chronic disease, and 40% of them even need to take at least five types of drugs. However, the deterioration of their physical functions may affect their ability to take medicines as instructed, resulting in medicines being taken by mistake or omission, which may even increase the risk of hospitalization or even death.
Don't underestimate these problems. Take high blood pressure as an example, the risk of hospitalization, re-hospitalization, and premature death is five times higher than normal if the elderly are not compliant with their medication.
If you or someone close to you has any problems in life, please contact us, we are happy to be a support for the elderly.
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