Free Checklist Helps Elderly Reduce Drug Costs, Health Risks
Leading eldercare website is providing complimentary medicine cabinet checklist to caregivers to assist aging parents' Medicare Part D enrollment and as a first step to reduce adverse drug reactions among seniors.
San Rafael, Calif. (PRWEB) November 19, 2006 -- With the annual Medicare prescription medication enrollment period underway, millions are helping aging parents make lists to find the plan that reduces their costs. Parent Care, a San Francisco Bay Area firm, is providing a list to let them go a step further to also reduce the risk of adverse drug reactions, a cause of over two million hospital admissions among seniors each year. The firm recommends asking seniors' doctors and pharmacists to review the completed list to spot potential drug interaction problems in addition to using it to complete Medicare enrollment.
The complimentary list includes space for not only prescribed medications but also over-the-counter drugs, vitamins and supplements that seniors might be using. It advises caregivers to first collect all the seniors' medications - from medicine cabinets, bedside, purses or car, wherever they might be stored to complete an itemized inventory. Space for health care provider contact information is also provided.
Parent Care CEO William Gillis says "We encourage seniors' progeny to be proactive in helping their parents. If we can help just one senior citizen avoid a mishap, our mission will have been accomplished."
The medicine cabinet checklist is one of a series provided to subscribers to the ten dollar service. The firm is making the list available free to all visitors to its website through December 31, the end of the Medicare enrollment period.
In addition to providing copies to health care professionals, the firm also recommends placing a copy in the seniors' purse or wallet. This could prove helpful in emergencies since some research indicates that seniors have difficulty listing all medications used when visiting emergency rooms. Gillis noted, "Only health care professionals can provide medical advice. However, they can provide the best advice only when they have complete information. Our checklist can help serve that purpose."
The Parent Care site provides caregivers quarterly reports on services available in each US county to help locate and evaluate services seniors may need. It also features monthly articles by experts, weekly caregiver chats, daily tips and senior-related news.
To download the checklist, caregivers go to the Parent Care site and click on 'Free Checklist".
About Parent Care, Inc.
Parent Care is the leading information source for the nation's seven million long distance eldercare providers. Parent Care, The Parent Care Report and The Parent Care Channel are registered trademarks of the firm.
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