Plastic pill containers and the Medication Record are aids which can help seniors take their medications correctly. The following tips can complement these aids by increasing your awareness of the issues which affect safe medication use among low-literacy seniors. It will also give you some tools to increase seniors' awareness of what else they can do to prevent medication misuse.
Explain to seniors what take as directed means.
Write down medication instructions in plain language in their Medication Record. Give them an information sheet in plain language which describes how to take their medication.
If your patient is taking pills, describe the colour and shape of these pills when you are explaining how and when to take them.
Seniors with low-literacy skills often identify their medication by its colour and shape. They will often find their over-thecounter medication in a pharmacy by remembering where it is physically located in the store as well as by the colour and shape of the packaging.
