Pharmaceutical Care of Differently Abled People

 

Pharmaceutical care is one of the major need of differently able people. People with hearing, visual, learning, cognitive disabilities, and mobility assistive aids for people with hand-dexterity weakness and difficulties in swallowing are major problems in medication of such people. Sensory limitations like impaired vision/ blindness, impaired hearing/ deaf, deaf-blind, and/ or difficulty in speaking, remembering, concentrating, learning and/ or understanding are a hindrance of such people. People with sensory limitations are diverse within their disabilities and need assistance in medication.

World Health Organization reports that around 50% of people typically follow their doctors' orders when it comes to taking prescription drugs. Only 43% of patients take their medicine as prescribed to treat acute asthma. Between 40% and 70% follow the doctor's orders for depression medication. Just 51% of patients take the prescribed doses of high blood pressure medicine. Effective communication can make medication information available to assist in people with in understanding their medication.

A pharmacist can assist the person with disabilities in their medication and proper treatment. Various pharmaceutical companies has introduced specific devices, bottles and instruments for such persons. A pharmacist can guide and help them how they can use the specific container or devices for proper medication. So both pharmacist and pharmaceutical companies in association with doctors are continuously doing this noble work for wellness of differently abled people.

Specific devices are designed by pharmaceutical companies as a low-cost solutions to assist with medication adherence for people with hand strength and/ or dexterity limitations.

·      Easy to open lids – These lids are designed so that a patient with difficulty in opening the container can easily open it. The differentially abled people may be able to use ordinary screw caps as an alternative to childproof closures. A child resistant bottle with a lid closures that require less pinching and griping to open.

·      Pill Punch-out and cutter - Blister packs are difficult for most people, and almost impossible if a person has hand strength and dexterity weakness all over the globe. Pharmacy staff can remove or repackage tablets, stock, or provide low-cost pill removal devices, and/or provide pill cutters, so that patient can easily do proper medication.

·      Dome shaped bottle openers are made of non-slip material which provide a grip that help people with decreased strength, function and/or sensation to easily open pill bottles and other screw-top bottles.

·      Eye drop dispensers can assist people with shaky hands and/or limitations in hand-eye coordination, or people with chronic eye diseases like glaucoma, or cataract. Pharmacist play an important role in providing a low-cost solution or stock eye drop dispensers and eye guides.

·      Easier-to-use inhalers – Most of asthmatics use the inhalers on regular basis. Due to lack of dexterity, weakness, and visual limitations, some people are prone to problems when in holding inhalers and inserting capsules in it. They are specially designed, depending on the medication needed, some models require less dexterity to use.

·      Difficulty in Swallowing- Old age people can have difficulty swallowing due to a number of physical and/ or neurological conditions including stroke, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and Parkinson’s, Azlheimers. For such purposes Plll pulverizers are introduced, it crush the tablets in powder form, so that a differentially abled person can easily take medication. Medications can be split or crushed, or capsules that can be easily opened and mixed with foods for proper medication. Alternative dosage forms that might be easier to swallow, e.g., liquids, and smaller tablets can be used to assist such persons.

·      Color Coded Rings and Caps may benefit people with sensory limitations and low vision for proper medication. Prescription bottles are designed flat, so that the labels can be easily read. Plastic color-coded rings, helping to identify and remember the medications. Pharmacist can re-dispense medications in such bottles with different colour codes. Pharmaceutical companies also designed color-coded flip and tab lids for syringe vials.

Pharmacist and pharmaceutical companies can further assist the differentially abled peoples by using new innovations for proper medications.

Author: 

Prof. Dr. Sunil Jawla

Principal

Geeta Institute of Pharmacy