Medication management and organization can be a critical issue for caregivers who are providing for aging parents, spouses, special-needs children, young children, and other relatives.
Find out how caregivers can reduce stress and keep families safer by using pillminders, medication lock boxes, and other medication safekeeping devices.
100 Million Unpaid Caregivers in America
One hundred million US adults are caregivers, providing care and assistance for a family member. In many cases, caregivers also work full-time jobs; one in five adults provides care and works outside the household.
Older adults are most likely to need care from family members. According to the Caregiving in America report, those most likely to need caregiving services are:
- 41% aging parents
- 29% special-needs child
- 20% someone else
- 18% spouse/ partner
The majority of caregivers in the United States are women, at 56% compared to 44% men, and nearly a quarter of caregivers of an elderly adult also have young children at home.
Caregiving Impacts Stress, Mental Health, Memory
Providing care can negatively impact the well-being of caregivers.
- 41% report low overall well-being
- 40% say caregiving negatively impacts stress levels
- 47% have experienced increased anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues
If you’re finding yourself increasingly forgetful at home or work due to your caregiving duties, you’re not alone. Studies have shown that stress and anxiety can affect your memory, making it harder to concentrate and lock new information into your memory. Lack of sleep and depression, which can be common for caregivers, can also exacerbate memory problems.
Medication Management a Common Caregiving Task
One way this stress-induced memory loss can make life harder for a caregiver is when it comes to dispensing medication.
Medication management is one of the most common tasks reported by informal caregivers.
78% of caregivers report performing medical tasks such as administering medications and preparing pill boxes.
Aging adults are more likely to be taking multiple prescription medications compared to younger adults. Nine out of ten aging adults take prescription medications, and more than half of adults aged 65 and older report taking four or more medications.
Parents who are caring for special needs children also tend to have more medications to keep track of. A study published in the journal Pediatrics reported that 78.4% of children with special health care needs require prescription medications, and 67% of parents reported their children with special health care needs had up to two health conditions that needed health services, including prescriptions.
Medication Management Tools
Medication management is a difficult and time-consuming task, and many caregivers feel unprepared and ill-equipped to manage their care recipient’s complex medication routines.
Medication safekeeping and organizing tools can help caregivers with this often overwhelming task. The following medication management tools have been designed with medication safekeeping in mind, so caregivers can worry a little less about missing pills or accidental access.
PillMinder
Pill boxes, also known as a pillminder, are the most common tool used by caregivers while managing medications. Caregivers utilize pillminders as an organizational tool and as a visual reminder to help tell if a recipient has missed a dose.
Unfortunately, most pill organizers fail when it comes to protecting children against unauthorized or accidental access to medications.
Medications are the leading cause of child poisoning fatalities. The risk goes up for children living in a home with grandparents, who often have multiple prescription medications.
According to the CDC, nearly 40% of children treated in emergency departments for medication-related poisoning accessed their grandparents' medicines.
Traditional pill minders and pill organizers do not have extra safety precautions in place to prevent spills or to keep young children from accessing potent, powerful, and potentially fatal medications.
The RxGuardian PillMinder™ is an ideal medication management tool for caregivers who have children in the home. It has been designed with an extra layer of security to help prevent accidental medication poisoning. The RxGuardian PillMinder™ uses a push-and-slide mechanism for opening and closing. It makes a “clicking” sound when properly closed, so you can rest assured that you have secured your medications against spills while making it more difficult for young children to access.
Learn how the PillMinder™ was designed with child safety in mind.
Medication Lock Box
A medicine lock box can help caregivers store prescription medications safely away from curious children or exploratory teens.
Medication lock boxes, like the Safer Lock Box, can be used to secure multiple prescription medications. The Safer Lock Box uses a four-digit combination code of your choosing to protect your family against medication poisoning and unauthorized access to medicines. The medicine lock box can be stored in a refrigerator for medication that needs to be kept cool, or kept out of sight (and out of reach) in a cabinet.
Use a locking medicine box to keep young children and aging adults from accessing medications without your knowledge.
Tip: Organize medications for the week using a 7-day PillMinder, and then secure your PillMinder in a Safer Lock Box with a 4-digit combination code to further reduce the risk of accidental or unauthorized access.
Locking Medication Bag
Traveling with medications can add even more complexity and stress to a caregiver’s medication management duties. A locking medication travel bag can ease that stress by providing another layer of protection and security for medicines.
Use a locking medication bag like the Rx Locking Bag to take your medications safely on the go. Large enough to fit a PillMinder and multiple prescription medicines, the Rx Locking Bag utilizes a three-digit-combination lock to secure medicines, prevent accidents, and keep unauthorized persons from accessing medications, no matter where you go. This secure storage pouch also comes with a customizable label on the front, and the soft-sided pouch can also be used at home to organize medications.
If you are managing medications for multiple people, you can assign a Rx Locking Bag to each person under your care to keep medicines separate, organized, and safely secured.
Designed with Safety and Caregivers in Mind
RxGuardian’s family of medication safekeeping devices are designed with safety in mind. For caregivers who need to worry about medication management, organization, and the safety of family members of all ages, RxGuardian’s products can be helpful tools that alleviate stress and safety concerns.
