Medication Reminders and Assistance with Self-Medication
Sets out what direct care workers may and may not do with a client's medications: medication reminders and cueing (MI Choice community living supports), hands-on help with taking medication (Home Help), and assistance with self-medication under written procedures reviewed by a consulting pharmacist, physician or registered nurse. Workers do not administer medication except as a complex care task the Agency has accepted under Policy MI-HC-SVC-03. Covers storage, refusals, errors and reactions, and recording each assistance on Form MI-HC-SVC-04-B.
- Policy number
- MI-HC-SVC-04
- Version
- 1.0
- Main rule
- MPM MI Choice Waiver §4.1.D
- Library
- Michigan home care · 50 policies
- Category
- Clinical tasks
- Sections
- 20
In short
- You may remind the client, open containers, read the label and hand the medicine to the client.
- Do not fill pill boxes, decide doses or give medicine to a client who cannot direct it.
- Check the label against the care plan every time; if it does not match, do not help and call.
- If the client refuses, do not insist; write it down and call your supervisor.
- For trouble breathing, swelling or a client who will not wake, call 911 first.
- Record every medication help on the medication assistance record.
What's inside
20 sections. The full text comes with the One-time Policy Pack.
- Terms of Reference
- 1. Purpose
- 2. Scope
- 3. Definitions
- 4. Policy Statement (MPM MI Choice Waiver §4.1.D)
- 5. What Workers May and May Not Do
- 6. Who May Assist and Under What Conditions
- 7. Verifying Medications and Labels
- 8. Steps for Assisting with Self-Medication
- 9. Medication Administration
- 10. Refusals, Errors and Reactions
- 11. Storage, Disposal and Controlled Medications
- 12. Client and Family Responsibilities
- 13. Responsibilities
- 14. Records and Compliance Monitoring
- 15. Staff Training
- 16. References
- 17. Related Policies and Forms
- 18. Approval
- 19. Revision History
An inspector may ask
- Show me your written procedures for assisting participants with self-medication. Who reviewed them, and when?
- What does your worker do if the participant refuses a medication or the pills in the organizer look wrong?
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