Management of Expectations and adaptation to change
Tools for medication-taking
Medication self-management An individual’s ability to manage the symptoms, side effects, treatment, and physical and social consequences of taking medications. includes several different tasks, one of those being taking medications. There are some tools that can be requested or purchased to assist with taking medications (e.g. if you experience challenges with hand function). For example:
Device | Description and Examples | Picture |
---|---|---|
Bottle opening devices ($10 – $20) | Devices that can be used with pill bottles to improve grip or ability to hold the lid of the bottle Examples: Medi-Grip® bottle opener, Multi-size bottle opener | ![]() |
Pill punch ($20 – $30) | Devices that are used to help penetrate blister packaging | ![]() |
Eye drop dispensers ($20 – $50) | Devices used to facilitate administration by aligning the dropper to the eye and making the bottle easier to squeeze Examples: Opticare Arthro®, Autodrop® | ![]() |
Inhaler aids ($30 – $50) | Devices used to help grip and press the canister of the inhaler Example: Haleraid® | ![]() |
Tube squeezer ($5 – $10) | Devices used to access creams, gels, and ointments by pushing the contents toward to opening of the tube | ![]() |
Injector pen | Injectable medicines (e.g., insulin) can be prescribed as prefilled pens as opposed to vials and hypodermic syringes | ![]() |
Dosette ($5 – $20) | Device used to organize medications into individual compartments (by day of the week or time of day) | ![]() ![]() |
References
National Health Service. (2020, May). Guidance on interventions to improve medication … https://www.herefordshireandworcestershireccg.nhs.uk/about-us/publications/medicines-and-pharmacy/general-prescribing-resources/patient-resources/391-interventions-to-improve-adherence-patient-outcomes-final/file
Note: Some of the information included above is also based on lived experiences