New education guide on medicines and dementia
Alzheimer’s Australia and NPS MedicineWise have launched a set of new resources to inform people with dementia and their carers about their rights around treatment options including medicines.
An information booklet, Medicines and Dementia, has been produced to support people to make informed decisions about their care with their health professionals and to communicate their wishes and values.
The booklet covers areas such as:
consent
appropriate use of medicines and non-medicine therapies including psychosocial approaches to expressions of distress
Use of psychotropic medication
Advance care planning
Alzheimer’s Australia CEO Carol Bennett said people with dementia have identified the need for evidence-based information on medicines as a priority.
“The new resources will help people make decisions about a care plan, gain a better understanding of their rights around consent and how to discuss and document their choices,” she said.
NPS MedicineWise CEO Dr Lynn Weekes said people with dementia could be at particular risk of problems with medicines if they took multiple medicines or due to memory or communication issues.
“Our campaign is all about empowering people with a diagnosis of dementia to work with the people and heath professionals involved in their care to discuss and document their choices and management options in relation to navigating the symptoms of dementia,” she said.
Other resources include fact sheets on tips for good medicine management, strategies to address distress and other conditions that commonly occur alongside dementia.
For more information and to download the resources, go to www.nps.org.au/dementia
Read more at: http://www.australianageingagenda.com.au/2016/03/31/new-education-guide-on-medicines-and-dementia/#.VwG__nU6kAw.twitter