C<\/span>ardiologists. Urologists. Oncologists. Pulmonologists.<\/p>\n As we age, we become more likely to add an increasing number of specialists to our medical team. Along with our primary care physician, any (or all) of these doctors may prescribe medications. We count on these medications to help us get healthier and stay healthier.<\/p>\n Almost everyone has been in the position of filling out forms in a doctor\u2019s waiting room, struggling to remember the names and doses of our prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and supplements.<\/p>\n If we miss something and the doctor prescribes a new medicine without knowing what else we\u2019re taking, our health can be at risk. Medications may interact with each other or may not work as well as intended in certain combinations.<\/p>\n According to research by the National Center for Biotechnology Information<\/a>, 25% of Americans age 65-69 and 45% of those aged 70-79 regularly take at least five prescription drugs. The risks of combining the wrong drugs can be devastating: confusion, dizziness, falls, even death.<\/p>\n To protect yourself, take the time to ask the pharmacist these five essential questions whenever you start a new medication:<\/p>\n Before you visit or call your pharmacy, take a few minutes to gather everything you currently take. Write a list with names, dosages, and how often you take each one.<\/p>\n Share the list with the pharmacist and ask if there are any potentially hazardous interactions with your new drug, overlaps of ingredients (such as two drugs containing acetaminophen), or gaps in care. This step is especially important if you fill prescriptions at multiple pharmacies.<\/p>\n As we age, falling becomes more of a risk, especially when we need to get up frequently during the night. Compounding the potential hazard: Some medications can make you dizzy or drowsy. A pharmacist can provide home safety tips to avoid an accident.<\/p>\n Your pharmacist can suggest simple devices such as inexpensive pill organizers, as well as reminder apps or other digital tools.<\/p>\n If you cannot afford your prescription or hope to spend less, ask your pharmacist about other options such as generics and less expensive drugs on the list of covered medications called a formulary.<\/p>\n If you lack health insurance, the pharmacist can provide information about prescription savings cards such as InsideRx, which offers discounts on many medications.<\/p>\n A 2017 analysis of trends in alcohol consumption among older Americans shows that alcohol use has steadily increased in people 60 years of age and older over the past two decades, particularly among women.<\/p>\n Ask your pharmacist how prescription and over-the-counter medications, including aspirin, acetaminophen, sleeping pills, and pain medication could interact with alcohol.<\/p>\n As we age, we all tend to be a bit more forgetful, but remembering to take medications on time and as they are prescribed can be challenging for people of all ages.<\/p>\n In fact, up to 50% of people are known to be nonadherent with prescriptions for chronic conditions. While some chronic conditions may not have noticeable symptoms, regularly taking your medications can help prevent long-term complications and worsening your condition.<\/p>\n While reasons for not regularly taking your medications can vary and include prescription costs and concern about side effects, forgetting to take them is among the most common. Having your medication delivered directly to your home is a convenient way to keep up-to-date on your prescriptions.<\/p>\n Research colleagues of mine conducted analyzed pharmacy claims managed by our home-delivery pharmacy in 2018 and 2019 among more than 1.75 million people who use medications to treat diabetes, hypertension, or high cholesterol.<\/p>\n The study found that people are more adherent to their medications when they fill their prescriptions at through mail where they can receive 90-day supplies of medication and contact our specially-trained pharmacists who are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year.<\/p>\n Medication adherence is just the beginning of the benefits. When the study compared those same Express Scripts Pharmacy patients to those who filled prescriptions at a retail pharmacy, we found:<\/p>\n \u2022 20% fewer expected all-cause trips to the emergency room for patients filling diabetes medication and 18% fewer expected all-cause inpatient hospitalizations.<\/p>\n \u2022 23% fewer expected all-cause trips to the emergency room for patients filling hypertension medication and 17% fewer expected all-cause inpatient hospitalizations.<\/p>\n \u2022 18% fewer expected all-cause trips to the emergency room for patients filling blood cholesterol medication and 12% fewer expected all-cause inpatient hospitalizations.<\/p>\n No matter where you fill your prescriptions, it\u2019s important to recognize your pharmacist as a health care provider who understands your needs and has the training and expertise to answer your questions.<\/p>\n And, better yet, typically, no appointment is needed! So, be sure to reach out to your pharmacist to learn more about your medications and health.<\/p>\n What you need to know about your prescriptions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11723,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[144,146],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall-2021","category-fall-2021-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11654"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11977,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11654\/revisions\/11977"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}5 Essential Questions to Ask<\/h3>\n
1. Could this medication interact with my other medications, vitamins, or supplements?<\/h3>\n
2. Could this medication make me unsteady on my feet?<\/h3>\n
3. How can I remember to take my medicine?<\/h3>\n
4. Is there a more affordable option for my prescription?<\/h3>\n
5. What should I know about drinking alcohol while taking prescription medicine?<\/h3>\n
The Importance of Taking Your Medications Regularly<\/h3>\n
Recognize Your Pharmacist as an Important Resource Who Is Easily Available<\/h3>\n
Susan Peppers, RPh, is Vice President, Express Scripts Pharmacy.<\/a><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"