Identifying Solutions to Medication Adherence in the Visually Impaired Elderly

Abstract

Adults older than 65 years of age with vision impairment are more likely to have difficulty managing medications compared with people having normal vision. This patient population has difficulty reading medication information and may take the wrong medication or incorrect doses of medication, resulting in serious consequences, including overdose or inadequate treatment of health problems. Visually impaired patients report increased anxiety related to medication management and must rely on others to obtain necessary drug information. Pharmacists have a unique opportunity to pursue accurate medication adherence in this special population. This article reviews literature illustrating how severe medication mismanagement can occur in the visually impaired elderly and presents resources and solutions for pharmacists to take a larger role in adherence management in this population.

3D Printed Tablets (Printlets) with Braille and Moon Patterns for Visually Impaired Patients

“…The above images successfully demonstrated the ability of SLS 3D printing to produce printlets with intricate and complex patterns, which could potentially offer a new solution to improving medication adherence and independence amongst visually impaired patients. Most of the recent strategies that have been developed to help these patients are based on audio labellers such as voice-scanning devices and audible monitors, but the cost of these devices is high [65]. In 2002, it was estimated that audio descriptive devices cost the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK almost £2 million/year [66].…”

Association between patient‐reported hearing and visual impairments and functional, psychological, and cognitive status among older adults with cancer

“…Oncologists treating older adults with cancer should assess the vision and hearing of their patients, and sensory impairment should be considered when developing a treatment plan. For example, older adults with vision impairment are more likely to have difficulty managing medications and to report increased anxiety related to medication management . Furthermore, our group previously identified hearing impairment as a risk factor for grade 3 to 5 chemotherapy toxicity among older adults.…”

Estado actual de la atención sanitaria de personas con discapacidad auditiva y visual: una revisión breve

“…El 30% de estos pacientes reporta dificultad para leer las etiquetas y posología de fármacos 55 , mientras que 44% de las mujeres con discapacidad visual colocaron incorrectamente los medicamentos en sus cajas respectivas. Lo anterior pone riesgo la adherencia al tratamiento y con ello la recuperación de su salud 73 .…”