Patient and caregiver were instructed on measures to promote medication compliance in patients with dementia as follows:
- Communicate in clear, simple language with dementia patients regarding the intended use of each medication, importance, side-effects to watch for and alert the caregivers. Providing printed instructions of the same, with pictures for easy understanding can help for future reference.
- Request the prescribing physicians for once daily dosing for easy compliance and combination pills if possible, which can help reduce the total number of pills to be taken every day.
- Pairing the medication intake with tasks like brushing teeth, morning coffee, shower, lunch, bedtime, and so on can help reinforce medication compliance in patients with cognitive decline.
- Filling weekly pill boxes with slots for different times of the day can help improve organizing intake.
- Using voice assistants like Alexa and smartphone apps can provide reminders for timely medication intake.
- Electronic pill dispensers with safety features of locking and alarms can help avoid medication overdosing and promote safety & compliance in dementia patients with severe confusion.
- Avoid filling in the PRN medications into the pill boxes. This can help undue use of medications.
- Assigning one person in the family as the primary medication manager can help prevent any medication errors. If this measure is difficult to meet, physical signing off on medication logs can add accountability to the medication administration, prevent confusion, and reduce risk for missed doses and double dosing.
- Encourage compliance with scheduled physician appointments. Report to the physician regarding any worsening confusion with the medications, which can provide an opportunity to revise the doses on current medications or consider alternative medications.
