Tip #10 Frugal Fixes; The Case of the Coloured Baskets

     He knew she was lying; how could she have seen the man leave his house by the light of the moon as it was a new moon, and thus could not have provided any light...
     Okay, so I'd never make it as a novelist writing detective stories, but nonetheless I have helped solve a mystery or two in my time. I'm not talking about solving murders and robberies - but you knew that. No, it's the mysteries that revolve around medical events that have not yet happened; events avoidable if the right checks and balances are in place. What kind of events? Dangerous ones. Potentially harmful and even fatal ones; like medication errors.
     Medication errors are very easy to make in the home setting. This is especially true for people recovering from a traumatic injury or illness that now have a large number of medications to manage. In such a case as this, considering the kinds of things that can go wrong is a step in the right direction (without dwelling on it). If you want to avoid an incident of medication error, then consider the following (note, this is not an exhaustive list):
1) Who has access to said medications? Make sure no one accidentally takes medications meant for you - especially young children, someone with low vision, or someone who is easily confused.
2) Are there a number of people involved in your care? Make sure there are good protocols in place:

• Have them tell you the expiry date, and the name of the drug before handing it to you
• Give each med a "home" so they're easy to find, and use them in the order they came (oldest- but not expired, to newest)
• Have each person receiving a delivery from your pharmacy check that a) the med has your name, and b) the med is actually the one you ordered/reordered

3) Minimize mistaken identity issues between meds. There is a lot of room for error in this department. For instance, if you have two or more medications that come with nearly identical labels and/or packaging, VERY CLEARLY label them (in colour, or capital letters, etc)

4) Ensure that it is safe to have this medication (again) now. Each time you are about to take a med, make sure that you and/or your attendant look on the whiteboard (or however you track your meds) to note the last time you had this med, and that you are taking the right med in terms of your symptoms

      So where is the frugal fix in all of this? Using a basket system (as in the picture) makes it easier to accomplish most of the suggestions above. The blue, red, and brown baskets in the picture of the refrigerator collectively cost less than $10. In fact, most dollar-type stores carry them in varying sizes and colours for a dollar or two. If your meds don't need to be refrigerated, and/or require much smaller baskets, this system can still work, just don't use the fridge, and use size appropriate baskets. However, if you are going to adopt this system I suggest that you consider doing the following:

• Choose different coloured baskets for each med or group of meds
• Label the outside of the baskets with large lettering
• Place a a piece of brightly coloured card stock or cardboard to separate the current supply from the new refills within the basket. 
• Place stickers with the date of expiry written in colourful marker on any medications that have a very short shelf life (e.g. some IV meds come as seven IV bags that last only a week; in this case label each bag)
• Periodically review the system, to ensure that everyone is following the protocols the same way, and consistently.

     Not all of these issues and/or strategies may apply to you. Still, whether or not they apply I hope that this gets you thinking more critically about something we often forget to pay attention to - how dangerous meds can be if not administered properly. So, make friends with your pharmacist. When you look at your meds processes, make a plan that makes it hard to for you and/or others to make dangerous mistakes. Sit down with your caregivers/attendants to make sure that whatever system you've adopted, everyone knows the plan and how to carry out that plan. Implement whatever it is you need to in order to make you as safe as possible. Mistakes still happen, but I think they happen much less when you have all of your ducks in a row. Or, I guess in this case, all of your coloured baskets in a row...

Happy Detective-ing!