Taking care of yourself and other family members is always a challenge when managing a home therapy or treatment regimen. However, preparation is vital to managing your treatment by reducing risk factors that can keep you spending more of your time, energy, and resources.
One way to prepare for your home therapy is to create a safe space where you can store your medications, away from any children or animals in the home. Whether you are infusing, injecting, or orally intaking your medication for your therapy, it is best to plan how you will store and restock your medication to effectively manage your condition!
Different Ways to Store
Depending on what product you are taking, determines how you will store it in your home and at what temperature. Always check with the product’s manufacturer or your pharmacist for important details about the storage and shelf life of your medication(s).
Stay Cool
Keeping a thermometer in your refrigerator will allow you to keep track of what temperature you are storing your medication at. You can find the correct storage temperature for your medication under the prescribing information on the manufacturer’s website. Additionally. a copy can be provided by your pharmacist.
But what happens if the power goes out?! If you keep the refrigerator door closed, your medication may stay cold for several hours. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has developed an important resource for those in a power outage or potential flood.
Up, Up, and Away!
When storing medication that does not need to be refrigerated, make sure to put them up, away and out of sight. This keeps them away from children or animals in the home. About 50,000 children will end up in the hospital this year, says the Center for Disease Control, because they gained access to medication without an adult’s supervision. Either a high cabinet in the kitchen, closet, that remains cool and dry will reduce health risks for you and your loved ones in the home.
Check Your Dates
All things must come to an end, even your medication, which is why it’s important to properly restock your medications as well as check your expiration dates! When you ensure you are not consuming expired products, you increase the efficacy of your home therapy treatment. FIFO and FEFO are two methods that you can use to help keep you organized and aware of the medications in your home inventory.
FIFO (First In First Out)
When receiving new medications IN your home inventory, they should be placed behind the product that you have held onto longer, this will guarantee that the product you’ve had for longer can be the first to be OUT of your inventory for your consumption or infusion. This method keeps your home inventory organized, especially if you take multiple medications and allows you to use your medications before they expire.
FEFO (First Expired First Out)
If you have a medication that is soon to be EXPIRED, make sure to make that product the first one to be OUT of your home inventory before any others. What if you find an expired product in your home inventory; is it okay to consume expired medication? The short answer, in compliance with the FDA, is a hard no. They state that “expired [medication] can be less effective or risky due to a change in chemical composition or a decrease in strength.” Always check your dates, and if you have any expired product, make sure to reach out to your pharmacist and check-in. There are typically local institutions regulated by your county or state to help dispose of any expired medication that you may have, the Drug Enforcement Administration has a search engine of public disposal locations.
Logging your Therapy
We tend to be forgetful, especially if we don’t keep track of important aspects of life, like our medications and home therapy. Whether you gravitate towards the old school pen and paper or the digital application, taking important notes can help you recall that information later on. We have created a digital therapy log for you to use located on google drive that you can print and/or download for your own personal use. Additionally, HemAware has also put together a great resource about the importance of utilizing a treatment journal/log which also includes a variety of digital applications to help you keep track of your home therapy.
Logging your therapy will also help you keep track of any extra product that you may have which is not harmful but could lead to extra healthcare costs each month. Make sure to contact your homecare provider and/or doctor if you are not using your prescribed medication within 30 days of your monthly treatment.
