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Who are you caring for?
Which best describes their mobility?
How well are they maintaining their hygiene?
How are they managing their medications?
Does their living environment pose any safety concerns?
Fall risks, spoiled food, or other threats to wellbeing
Are they experiencing any memory loss?
Which best describes your loved one's social life?
Acknowledgment of Disclosures and Authorization
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington. Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services. APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid. We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour. APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment. You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints. Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights. APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.I agree that: A.I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information"). B.APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink. C.APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site. D.If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records. E.This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year. F.You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
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Mostly Independent
Your loved one may not require home care or assisted living services at this time. However, continue to monitor their condition for changes and consider occasional in-home care services for help as needed.
Remember, this assessment is not a substitute for professional advice.
Share a few details and we will match you to trusted home care in your area:
No known deficiencies? Try a phone app like iPhone Health, perhaps in conjunction with an Apple Watch or similar. Also allows for as needed medications, and checks for adverse interactions.
Tell us more about who the reminder or dispenser is for, how much help they have available, what they have tried already, and what issues have been observed.
No dementia, but limited vision? Set audio reminders on Alexa or similar and set up pills in containers easily identified by touch. Have someone set up the containers for a week or whatever ahead of time.
Mild dementia but follows directions well over the phone? Call and walk through taking the medication from prefilled containers. Maybe use an Echo Show or similar for a video call.
Progressing dementia with a risk of skipping doses or taking extra doses? You are approaching the end of safe medication handling. Automated dose dispenser with lockout from future doses and video call observation might or might not work for a while.
Mom takes about 15 medications a day and recently left assisted living to stay with granddaughter (her funds are low and the AL facility was private pay only). She tends to forget to take all of her medications. She does have a smartphone so I will suggest the health app with reminders.
We had mom's pharmacy pack her daily meds in blister packs. All Mom had to do was follow the day of the week and time of day. That worked until she kept forgetting what day it was (although we had a clock that showed that). We then had to take the packs away (she thought she had already taken them or would take too many during a day) and send someone over a couple of times a day to distribute the pills.
Confer with pts PCP to 1) be sure that the pt is capable of even using any type of medication reminder system and medicating self. One cannot assume that any device will assure meds being taken appropriately. 2) then ask the PCP ( PRimary care physician) which device to use , if any. 3. ) A medication reminder device cannot be used as a crutch to sometimes avoid other reality such as the pt. actually needing other health care support to be sure meds are taken as directed.
We use this product for my mil. https://www.livefineproducts.com/collections/pill-dispensers/products/smart-wifi-automatic-pill-dispenser. There was a bit of a learning curve for setup at the beginning but now it works great for us. My mil is still able to live alone and for her twice-daily dosing we refill it every 2 weeks. I can check the app to see if she’s taken it. There is an alarm that says “It’s time to take your medicine” and beeps and my mil goes right to it. A door opens for that dose and she has to turn the machine over (dropping the pills into her hand) for the alarm to stop. Of course if you have someone who does not want to take pills, this won’t work, but for simply forgetting to take them, it’s been great. Every now and then we find a pill on the floor. Some of them are so tiny they are easy to lose and not know you’ve dropped them.
Even the best medication reminder will not be good enough if the person is not cognizant to understand that 1) there are medications that need to be taken. 2) will take the medications that are dispensed when they are dispensed. Is the person able to take medications themselves? Are they living alone? There are automatic dispensers. There are dispensers that are locked so that overdosing is usually not a problem. And there are plain basic daily pill cases. And there are pharmacies that will pack medications together. A little more info as to who this is for (condition and are they cognizant? and are they living alone?) If medication has become a problem for someone living alone it may be time for a caregiver or for that person to move. Either in with a family member or to AL or MC. (type of facility determined by level of care required)
For today's caregivers, electronics are an immediate "go-to" for most things. But Mom, or elder, may not be able to use computerized reminders, especially if the beginnings of dementia are present! Learning a new procedure, even with as few as only 2 steps, may be more difficult than using older, more familiar memory aids/reminders. .
Tajann: My mother's physician dictated that she use cassette holders, one color for daytime meds and another color for nighttime meds. It worked generally okay except when mom took a pill out and placed it on a saucer.
Hero machine is the best. And if the person qualifies, Medicare pays for it. My Mom uses it, as did my Dad before he passed away. It holds 10 medications and will give alerts for outside the machine medications. I don't work for them, it's just a great product.
Look for dispensers that have sections for each day, and also for morning, noon and night, if needed. For some people, setting alarms on their cell phones when they have to take medications works. Or you might be able to use calendar notifications on a Google calendar.
First we used a regular 7-day pill holder. That worked for a few years until she couldn't take them correctly. Then when we got an automatic pill dispenser she couldn't use that either due to loss of sight, hearing, and cognition. Then we hired someone to come over twice a day to give her the medication. A couple months after that she had to move to assisted living.
I have a medicine tower. It has trays labeled for each day of the week (7 trays). I only have to fill it once a week. Remember, the tray has to be empty before going to bed each night. That's how I keep track of my pills. I also have a page-a-day calendar on the counter next to it.
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington.
Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services.
APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid.
We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour.
APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment.
You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints.
Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights.
APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.
I agree that:
A.
I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information").
B.
APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink.
C.
APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site.
D.
If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records.
E.
This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year.
F.
You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
I took my daughter’s advice and use the alarm on my iPhone. If someone doesn’t have a smartphone my recommendation would not help you.
Tell us more about who the reminder or dispenser is for, how much help they have available, what they have tried already, and what issues have been observed.
No dementia, but limited vision? Set audio reminders on Alexa or similar and set up pills in containers easily identified by touch. Have someone set up the containers for a week or whatever ahead of time.
Mild dementia but follows directions well over the phone? Call and walk through taking the medication from prefilled containers. Maybe use an Echo Show or similar for a video call.
Progressing dementia with a risk of skipping doses or taking extra doses? You are approaching the end of safe medication handling. Automated dose dispenser with lockout from future doses and video call observation might or might not work for a while.
https://www.techenhancedlife.com/articles/medication-management-systems-which
One cannot assume that any device will assure meds being taken appropriately.
2) then ask the PCP ( PRimary care physician) which device to use , if any.
3. ) A medication reminder device cannot be used as a crutch to sometimes avoid other reality such as the pt. actually needing other health care support to be sure meds are taken as directed.
It's a safety issue.
1) there are medications that need to be taken.
2) will take the medications that are dispensed when they are dispensed.
Is the person able to take medications themselves? Are they living alone?
There are automatic dispensers.
There are dispensers that are locked so that overdosing is usually not a problem.
And there are plain basic daily pill cases.
And there are pharmacies that will pack medications together.
A little more info as to who this is for (condition and are they cognizant? and are they living alone?)
If medication has become a problem for someone living alone it may be time for a caregiver or for that person to move. Either in with a family member or to AL or MC. (type of facility determined by level of care required)
Learning a new procedure, even with as few as only 2 steps, may be more difficult than using older, more familiar memory aids/reminders.
.