Medication Management for Seniors: Avoiding the Top 5 Mistakes

The average adult over 70 takes seven prescription medications plus several over-the-counter products. Errors are not rare — they are nearly inevitable without a system.

Mistake 1: no single source of truth. Maintain one printed list with every drug, dose, and time. Mistake 2: no pill organizer. A weekly box with AM/PM slots catches almost every missed or doubled dose. Mistake 3: no medication reconciliation after hospital visits. Doctors add, change, and forget to stop drugs — review the full list with your pharmacist after every hospitalization. Mistake 4: ignoring grapefruit, alcohol, and OTC interactions. Mistake 5: stopping a medication suddenly because of a side effect without calling the prescriber.

A 15-minute pharmacist consultation can prevent a year of problems. Most pharmacies will do this for free.