How to reduce medication errors at home

Common types of medication errors and how to avoid them

As an older person or someone with a disability, you’re probably taking at least one or more medications. According to NPS Medicine Wise, about 2 in 5 Australians aged 50 and older, and 2 in 3 Australians aged 75 and older, take five or more medicines every day.

For most people, medications are necessary to improve their short- and long-term health and make life more comfortable. However, unfortunately medication errors are common, and anyone who takes medication needs to be aware of how to take it safely.

Whether we’re taking prescription or non-prescription medication, there are ways to reduce the risk of making mistakes with your medications or experiencing problems.

Why is medication safety important?

Unfortunately, medication errors are common in Australia. According to the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia:

• There are 250,000 hospital admissions each year due to issues with medication
• There are 400,000 presentations to emergency, likely from medication-related problems
• The cost of this is $1.4 billion
• 50% is preventable

They also found that 1.2 million Australians have experienced an ‘adverse medication event’ or a reaction to medication in the last 6 months.

What are common types of medication errors?

There are many common types of medication errors. This might include:

• Too many medicines (also called polypharmacy): When people take five or more medications, it increases the risk of side effects and harmful interactions between drugs.
• Medication errors: There can be mistakes during prescribing, dispensing, or when taking medications. This might include the wrong dose or the wrong timing, which can lead to problems.
• Not enough regular reviews: Everyone on multiple and long-term medications should have check-ups regularly with a doctor or pharmacist. You may be on a medication you don’t need or could cause harm.
• Problems with communication: Sometimes, communication issues between you, your doctor, pharmacist and caregiver can lead to confusion. Some people may not understand instructions about how and when to take medications or may interpret them differently.

• Complex medication schedules: If your medication schedule is difficult or confusing, it could increase the risk of missed doses or the wrong usage. .

  What are some ways you can reduce the risk of drug errors at home?

  There are lots of things you can do to improve the chance of a medication error.

1. Know what medications you take

It’s important to know what medications you’re taking and when you take them. You could consider starting by writing down each of your medications and what they look like. Write a list of when you take them and what they are treating.

Also, write down the potential side effects. This will help you if you start to feel unwell, so you have a better understanding if it’s a medication issue or something else.

To make things easier, NPS Medicine Wise has paper lists you can download in 10 languages or a smartphone app for those who are more technologically minded.

If you’re not sure what you’re taking or why you’re taking it, it could be worth having a chat with your GP.

2. Have a plan for organising your medication

To improve medication safety, especially when managing multiple medications, many people find dose administration aids helpful for reducing confusion and maintaining a medication schedule.

There are two common options for dose administration aids: blister packs and compartmentalised medication boxes.

• Blister packs, like Webster™ Paks, are pre-packed by a pharmacist, providing an easy-to-follow schedule with doses sorted by day and time.
• Compartmentalised boxes are usually pre-packed by yourself or a family member. These boxes feature separate slots for each day of the week - and often for specific times of the day. Some options offer larger compartments or braille for added accessibility.

Both options are helpful for managing medications. However, it’s important to keep in mind that trained Five Good Friends Helpers can only support you with medication administration with dose administration aids that have been pre-packed by a pharmacist, who can ensure your medications are sorted correctly.

If you need to take medications at different times throughout the day, you might find it helpful to set reminders. Consider using a physical alarm or downloading an app like Medicine Wise to schedule reminders.

3. Get a Home Medicines Review

If you’re taking a lot of medicines and you’re not sure whether you need them all anymore, you might want a Home Medicines Review. This is when an accredited pharmacist checks what medication you’re taking.

They visit you at your home and talk to you about your medicines, including prescription and non-prescription. You don’t need to pay for it, but you do need a referral from your GP, so talk to them at your next visit about how to arrange a review.

Before the pharmacist comes, get your medications ready, including any herbal supplements or vitamins. Don’t forget things like inhalers, patches, creams, eye or ear drops.

The pharmacist will review your medications to make sure they’re not expired and will discuss how you take and store them. They will provide advice on how to manage your medications effectively.

Afterwards, they will send a report to your GP, who may suggest changes to your medications or offer other strategies to improve your medication routine.

The pharmacist can then help make any changes that your GP recommends.

4. Keep medicines in a safe place

It’s important that you store medicines in an easily accessible spot that is out of reach from children and vulnerable people.

It’s also important to think about things like sunlight, heat and humidity in your storage area, as these can all affect how the medication works.

Speak to your pharmacist about how best to store it. Some medications will need to be stored in the fridge, but others will need to be kept in a cool, dark place in their original packaging.

When you don’t need the medication anymore, don’t just keep it or throw it away in a regular bin or flush it down the toilet. The best thing to do with old medication is to take it back to your pharmacy to get rid of it through the Return Unwanted Medications project.

5. Talk to your Five Good Friends care team

It’s important to share any updates or concerns about your medications with your Five Good Friends care team.

One of our areas of support is Medication Support or Medication Management. If you choose to have this support, we can help you with your medication.

Depending on your help plan, some of the things we can do include:

• Support you while you take your medications
• Remind you when to take them
• Help you sort out your prescriptions

If you’d like to learn more about our medication support service at Five Good Friends, please get in touch with our team. We can chat about the service and how we can help you reduce the risk of medication errors at home.