Get the Lowdown on Home Medicine Reviews: A Must for Parkinson's Patients
Advantages of Conducting a Home Medication Review
Trust us, Clinical Pharmacist Ben Basger has some solid suggestions for folks living with Parkinson’s: snag a Home Medicine Review (HMR) every year if you're popping five pills or more.
"If you're ingesting five medications or more, slap on a request for regular third-party reviews," says Ben. "This process involves a freelance pharmacist peeking into your whole kit and caboodle: medical history, test results, your feelings, your insight about your condition and meds, and what you reckon.
"Gotta cope with a healthcare system that's often short on individual attention? An HMR's got your back by providing the one-on-one attention and taking the time necessary to assess your unique situation."
Ben, with the title of Clinical Pharmacist - Medication Management, locks and loads his arsenal at Wolper Jewish Hospital in Sydney. His mission? To form a tactical assessment of patients' meds - both the prescribed and the DIY variety - to identify, manage, and prevent drug-related hazards.
Any General Practitioner can sling a referral for an HMR. These reviews are accessible under Medicare (Item 900, with 100% benefit covered).
They'll school you on your med's purpose, how they'll help you out, how long you'll need to take 'em, and any special instructions for consuming the meds.
Ben breaks down the HMR sweet deals for patients as includin' increased drug knowledge, skills, and self-assuredness.
"Parkinson's folks face some wicked challenges," he admits. "Symptoms evolve, they age, and their medication routines can get downright complex—sometimes with negative consequences."
"Complex conditions like Parkinson’s carry the risk of polypharmacy or med overdose, which boosts the chances of side effects, additional costs, and burden on the patient."
"What we desperately need is patient-oriented care," Ben insists. "We need the pharmacist conducting the review to listen and elucidate meds in a manner that resonates with patients, on their terms."
For more data on the HMR Program, check out this Department of Health web page here
P.S. - The HMR Program acts as a comprehensive service aimed at enhancing medication use in the home setting, specifically for individuals coping with complex health conditions like Parkinson's disease. The service evaluates a patient's medications and identifies potential issues such as medication interactions, dosing errors, or unnecessary medications.
Benefits for individuals with Parkinson's include improved medication management, enhanced safety, personalized care, and cost-effectiveness. The program plays a critical role in improving the quality of life for those with complex conditions like Parkinson's by ensuring effective, safe medication use.
- Home Medicine Reviews (HMRs) are essential for individuals managing multiple medical-conditions, such as Parkinson's patients taking five or more pills.
- For patients struggling with a healthcare system lacking in individual attention, an HMR offers one-on-one assessment and care tailored to their unique situation.
- Clinical Pharmacist Ben Basger, an expert in medication management, advocates for HMRs to prevent drug-related hazards.
- Ben work at Wolper Jewish Hospital in Sydney, where he assesses patients' prescribed and self-administered medications.
- General Practitioners can refer patients for an HMR, which is covered under Medicare (Item 900).
- During an HMR, patients learn about their medications' purposes, benefits, durations, and special instructions.
- HMRs provide increased drug knowledge, skills, and self-assuredness to patients dealing with complex conditions like Parkinson's.
- Complex conditions like Parkinson's carry the risk of polypharmacy or medication overdose, leading to side effects, additional costs, and increased patient burden.
- Patient-oriented care is vital, with the reviewing pharmacist explaining medications in a manner that resonates with patients.
- The HMR Program enhances medication use in the home setting for individuals coping with complex health conditions like Parkinson's disease.
- The HMR Program aims to improve medication management, safety, personalized care, and cost-effectiveness for Parkinson's patients.
- The service evaluates a patient's medications and identifies potential issues such as medication interactions, dosing errors, or unnecessary medications.
- With HMRs, individuals with Parkinson's can enjoy improved medication management, enhanced safety, and a higher quality of life.
- The HMR Program can help reduce the risk of chronic-kidney-disease, chronic-diseases, and respiratory-conditions associated with polypharmacy or medication overdose.
- The HMR Program also addresses other chronic diseases like COPD, type-2-diabetes, cance, and rheumatoid-arthritis.
- For patients dealing with autoimmune-disorders, mental-health, skin-care, or digestive-health issues, an HMR can provide valuable insight and support.
- Besides medication management, HMRs can help patients who struggle with cardiovascular-health, eye-health, or hearing problems.
- Therapies-and-treatments, nutrition, and lifestyle changes are also areas where an HMR can offer guidance and support.
- To further their health and wellness journey, individuals can incorporate fitness-and-exercise, health-and-wellness products, and skin-care regimens into their daily routines.
- The HMR Program is an essential resource for improving the overall health of patients with complex conditions, fostering personal-growth, and increasing personal-finance through cost-effectiveness.
- Technology, data-and-cloud-computing, and finance are all important considerations when managing a chronic disease like Parkinson's.
- Relationships, pets, travel, cars, books, and hobbies like education-and-self-development, shopping, social-media, career-development, entertainment, learning, skills-training, sports, and even football can contribute to a balanced lifestyle.
- In addition to the benefits of HMRs for Parkinson's patients, they can also be advantageous for those with diverse health needs, such as managing symptoms of COPD, type-2-diabetes, or respiratory-conditions.
- By taking the time to assess medication use in the home setting, HMRs help ensure that individuals with complex conditions like Parkinson's can live a healthy, fulfilling life.
- Whether you're dealing with a complex condition like Parkinson's, COPD, or type-2-diabetes, or maintaining your digestive-health, eye-health, or hearing, an HMR can offer valuable insights.
- Don't overlook the importance of nutrition, cardiovascular-health, skin-care, mental-health, and fitness-and-exercise when managing chronic diseases like Parkinson's.
- From executive business ventures to simple personal-finance management, staying on top of financial matters is crucial for individuals managing complex health conditions.
- As part of a holistic approach to medication management, HMRs help patients navigate the complex world of health-and-wellness, ensuring they have the knowledge, skills, and self-assuredness necessary for a balanced, fulfilling life.
