WILMINGTON, Del., Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ — Back to school means: new school supplies, new teachers, new bus schedules, and … medical and emergency center forms? While it may have been easy to monitor medicine over the summer, a new school year means students and families face the challenge of adjusting to new routines. Whether a returning or new student, preparation for a safe and healthy school year should include working with the school’s administration to maintain your child’s medical routines. As parents prepare students for the school year, there are many tips and tools to help ensure that important medications are taken as prescribed.
Lack of medication adherence — not taking your medication as prescribed - can contribute to worsening of disease, preventable death, increased health care costs, and unnecessary hospitalization.(1)
Adherence is a serious problem in children and adolescents. For example, adherence to prescribed pulmonary medication for asthma, one of the most common chronic diseases in adolescents was reported in 2003 to be as low as 30 percent,(2) which means that only 3 out of every 10 adolescents who need the medicine took it as prescribed during the year.
Patients and their families should talk to their health care providers about proper medication frequency, benefits, potential side effects, allergic sensitivities, as well as any questions about cost and insurance coverage. Knowing the answers to these questions can help.
Whether your children are going to elementary school or to college, there are a variety of ways to help them maintain their medication routine.
For younger children:
* At home
— Write it down: the parent or care giver should write down the dose
that is prescribed by the physician and the directions for use.
— Day-to-day trackers: for long term medicines, have a notebook or
calendar with days, not dates, and laminate it, keep it by the
medications. Each time you give your child a dose, mark it on the
calendar.
* At school:
— Most schools do not allow children to bring prescription or over
the counter medications to school. It is best to contact your
child’s school about specific requirements and restrictions.
— In the case in which a child cannot carry his or her own
medication, there may be a form the parent needs to fill out and
bring to the school, along with physician documentation.
— The medication may be kept and dispensed by the school nurse. Many
schools use a log or a computer-based student medical record system
to keep track of dosing. For any questions on forms and other
requirements, you should contact your child’s school or talk
directly to their school nurse.
For the college student, living away from home and having a chaotic schedule:
* Automated pill dispensers: when a simple manual pill dispenser is not
enough, all-in-one battery powered units that dispense up to a 60-day
supply of pills or capsules daily for use at pre-set times with audible
reminder signals;
* Portable pill box alarms: daily or weekly supplies for varying
quantities of pills or capsules can be carried with you in many cases in
combination with an array of battery-powered electronic signals that
issue prompts at pre-set intervals-even microchip powered “talking pill
bottles” are now available;
* Wearable alarms: separate from pill dispensers themselves, wrist watch
alarms, travel clocks or electronic paging devices simply send out
prompt signals that may help to encourage medication adherence;
* Web and phone based medication reminder systems: these programs provide
email and phone reminders to patients, family members or caregivers to
promote adherence. Also, ask your doctor about free Web-based disease
education and medicine prompting programs to help improve condition
specific awareness and understanding and remind patients on the value of
regularly taking their medicines.
This information is brought to you by AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP.
(1) Osterberg L, Blaschke T. Adherence to Medication. N Engl J Med. 2005;
353:487-497.
(2) Adherence to Long-Term Therapies: Evidence for Action. World Health
Organization 2003.