How Does Assisted Living Medication Management Work?

According to the Pew Research Center, there are roughly 62 million older adults ages 65 and up in the United States as of 2024, accounting for 18% of the country’s population. Most of these seniors take some form of prescription medication.

The National Center for Assisted Living states that over 800,000 seniors in the U.S. live in an assisted living community. These communities typically provide medication management services for their residents if needed.

Medication management can include various things including medication safety, planning a medication schedule, and medication administration.

Medication administration or administering medication refers to the specific methods in which staff give or residents take their medication, whereas medication management includes safekeeping and tracking the medication or medication list itself.

Before a resident is officially admitted into an assisted living community, the prescription drugs or counter medications they’re on and the medical conditions they may have (e.g. high blood pressure) are taken into consideration as part of the assessment of their needs for treatment plans.

If a resident can perfectly remember the drugs they must take and the route, time, dosage, tracking, and effects for each, they do not need to request medication management from the assisted living staff. It’s important for seniors to maintain independence when they can.

Questions to Ask Assisted Living Staff

Keeping track of when and how much medication a resident has taken at a given time is crucial when following a medication schedule.

To ensure you or your family member’s unique medical situation is met, ask these questions to the assisted living community you are visiting:

1. Does this assisted living community have a medication management program or services?
2. Are the staff trained to administer and manage medications? How does the community ensure the staff are following procedures?
3. How does the community keep track of each residents’ medication and drug interactions? Is this tracked digitally or in a physical logbook?
4. Is the community’s medication management program regularly updated?
5. How does the community handle and prepare for adverse drug reactions?
6. How are medications stored in the assisted living community? If the resident can self-administer their medication, can they keep their medication in their own living space?
7. Does the community ensure each medication their residents take is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)?

Being proactive in finding out this information for yourself before moving into an assisted living community will allow you to make an informed decision regarding which community is right for you.

Consider Chelsea Senior Living

At Chelsea Senior Living, our staff members have lots of experience with care services including medication management, assistance with activities of daily living, an on-site nurse, special programs for memory loss and care, care coordination with medical professionals, monthly wellness checks, physical therapy, incontinence care, short-term respite stays, and 24-hour supervision.

Our assisted living communities offer abundant social activities and amenities including fitness therapy centers, restaurant-style dining rooms, daily happy hours, fully stocked libraries, and more.

You can categorize our floor plans by specialty service to see all the comfortable, spacious apartments we have available.

Schedule a tour today to see our beautiful campus and meet our friendly staff and residents.