Pharmacopalliation Care Provides Relief From Your Symptoms
You may have come across the word pharmacopalliation in your insurance or other medical papers. Perhaps it was mentioned in conversation with a health provider. It’s also an important part of the service you receive from Pegasus caregivers.
Pharma is the root word of pharmacies and pharmaceuticals. Palliation is treating a medical condition without curing it. Pharmacopalliation, therefore, is the treatment of your symptoms with drugs to provide relief.
Pharmacopalliation is also a skill that requires extensive training and experience. Pegasus home health professionals understand symptoms and drugs. They apply their knowledge to help develop a care plan that meets your needs.
A good care plan has many facets, including:
• Pain management
• Relieving other medical symptoms
• Psychological support
• Emotional support
• Spiritual support
Empathic home health caregivers strive to provide a high-quality life for you regardless of your medical conditions.
How Does Pharmacopalliation Care Help?
The underlying purpose of pharmacopalliation is to maximize benefits while minimizing side effects. It also serves to eliminate products that are either ineffective or that reduce the effectiveness of other products. It’s an essential part of a good care plan.
Pharmacopalliation specialists continually evaluate the:
• Types of medications
• Dosages of medications
• Timing of dosages
• Interactions with other drugs, herbs, or foods
A Pegasus professional coordinates medications with your physician and pharmacist.
If or when your medications need to be changed, your caregiver will help with:
• Explaining the change to you in understandable terms
• Making sure family members understand the change
• Discontinuing unneeded drugs, either immediately or by tapering off dosages
• Adjustments with dosages of other medications
Pharmacopalliation is about improving the quality of your life by alleviating symptoms and side effects.
Pegasus Home Health Care Focuses On the Whole Person
New drugs are constantly becoming available. Temporary shortages of drugs you’re used to create problems. Your Pegasus pharmacopalliation specialist makes sure any new or substituted drugs are beneficial for you.
Once a successful medication regimen has been worked out for you, then your home health care professional will:
• Ensure that mistakes aren’t made with similar appearing drugs
• Confirm the correct dosages
• Confirm timing of dosages
• Monitor and evaluate any changes
Their goal is to keep your medication from harming you.
Pegasus home health caregivers also understand that finances cause individuals to avoid taking drugs as prescribed. Some people will break their pills into pieces and take smaller doses than prescribed to save money. Others simply don’t get their prescriptions filled.
Home health care professionals help their clients obtain the kinds and amounts of medications needed. They are familiar with local and national agencies that provide funding. They are also aware of pharmaceutical programs that assist with the cost of drugs.
Pegasus home health care professionals will never let you go without the care, including medication, that you need. Your well-being is always first and foremost to them.
Other kinds of medication errors can result when you:
• Don’t understand complex directions
• Are unfamiliar with health terminology
• Have difficulty understanding English
• Can’t read the tiny print on prescription bottles
Your caregiver will help you overcome these barriers and avoid dosage errors.
Your medication regimen can also be complicated when you have more than one disease. That’s because treatment for one condition can worsen another condition. Pharmacopalliation specialists know how to provide relief with minimal side effects.
• Preventing a disease
• Eliminating an existing disease
• Slowing the progress of an existing disease
• Reducing the symptoms of a disease
Not everyone chooses to treat every condition every time.
As you mature, you may decide against treatment. Many factors influence your decision. Your Pegasus home health caregiver provides counseling for you and your family members in making your decision.
July is Herbal/Prescription Interaction Awareness Month
You may decide that herbal supplements are better for your health than drugs. Or you may want to combine herbs with your prescribed medications. Herbalism is a time-honored healing technique that is still practiced by many.
Various herbs are proven to:
• Alleviate symptoms
• Strengthen the immune system
• Prevent some diseases
If you use herbs for your health, it’s important to work with a trained herbalist.
Herbs also interact with many drugs. Interactions can include:
• Making a drug ineffective
• Making a drug too strong
• Serious side effects
Just because a herb is described as natural does not mean it is safe.
Supplements, including herbs, are not regulated. The quality and quantity of the herb can vary significantly. Variances also occur in growing conditions and harvesting methods.
What is marketed today is rarely a pure herb. Herbal supplements often contain non-herb ingredients. That can increase the interactions with other supplements and with drugs.
Pegasus home health professionals are aware of the potential interactions. Part of their job is your safety, and it’s important that they know what you’re taking. It’s always possible that an adjustment in your drugs or dosages will eliminate interactions with herbs.
Although you may need a variety of drugs, safety can be a factor. Pegasus professionals understand the value of pharmacopalliation in avoiding dangerous drug and supplement interactions. They’ll help you get the treatments you need without jeopardizing your safety.
