Medicines keep us healthy, and they also help us manage a lot of acute and chronic diseases. But as helpful as medications are, if they’re not used properly, they can also be very dangerous. Medication management helps prevent many problems associated with medication errors, so patients get the benefits of their therapy while greatly reducing any risks.
Hasan Badday, MD, is committed to optimizing health and wellness for every patient he treats at Pacific Pain and Regenerative Medicine. As a top-rated pain management physician with offices in Irvine and Los Angeles, California, Dr. Badday offers medication management tailored to each patient’s unique needs. Here’s how it could help you.
Medication management: The basics
Today, more than 20,000 FDA-approved prescription drugs are being used to treat all sorts of illnesses, and more are being introduced and approved every year. In addition to prescription medications, many other therapies are used, including over-the-counter medications and nutritional supplements.
While each offers its own unique benefits, many of these products can cause serious — even life-threatening — problems if used inappropriately or in combination with other products. In fact, every year in the United States, millions of people experience adverse events related to medication errors and thousands of people die.
Sometimes, these errors arise as a result of the sheer number of medications available coupled with the fact that many patients take more than one medicine, increasing the risk of dangerous drug interactions.
Some medications can even interact with certain foods. Other times, errors happen when patients don’t understand their dosing instructions or don’t notify their doctors about other products they’re using (like vitamins, for instance).
Medication management helps avoid these errors by providing you with doctor-led guidance that helps you understand — and reduce — risks.
The overarching goals of medication management are simple: to ensure each medication is appropriate for you based on your health risks and other factors, and to make sure you use each medication properly to achieve the best possible outcomes.
Benefits for patients
Certainly, everyone benefits when medications are used appropriately. But there are some patients for whom medication management is especially important.
People with multiple or evolving medical issues
About half of all Americans have at least one chronic medical problem that requires ongoing care, including mediation. What’s more, chronic conditions can often change, which means medication needs to change too.
People who take more than one medication
About half of Americans use at least one prescription drug, and 13-24% use three or more. Obviously, using more medicines increases your risks of dangerous drug interactions, and having a doctor review your medications is a good way to avoid those risks.
People who use supplements
Vitamins and other over-the-counter medications definitely offer health benefits for many people who use them. But just because you can buy them without a prescription doesn’t mean they can’t cause dangerous medical problems.
People with multiple doctors
If you see more than one doctor for your health needs, it’s all too easy to wind up with medicines that interact unfavorably with each other. WIth medication management, Dr. Badday keeps track of all your medications so you can be aware of potential interactions.
Older patients
It goes without saying that as you age, it gets a little harder to keep track of things. And since older age often goes hand-in-hand with increasing health problems, it’s not uncommon to wind up using multiple drugs as you get older. That, combined with the changing health needs associated with aging, makes older people especially vulnerable to medication errors.
Find out if medication management is right for you
That’s just a quick list of people who can benefit from medication management. The best way to know if medication management could benefit you is to review your medications, supplements, and health issues with Dr. Badday.
To learn more about medication management and its benefits, book an appointment online or over the phone today at the Pacific Pain and Regenerative Medicine location closest to you.
