Kidney and liver function
These organs help process or remove many medicines. Changes in function can affect how long a drug stays in the body or which dose is appropriate.
Welcoming new patients across Naples
A senior medication review that includes everything you actually take.
Prescription bottles are only part of the story. Faithful Care helps Naples older adults and caregivers reconcile prescriptions, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, supplements, schedules, side effects, and prescribers so the medication list reflects real life and supports safer decisions.
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Brown-bag review •Interaction check •Schedule clarity •Care coordination •Brown-bag review •Interaction check •Schedule clarity •Care coordination •Brown-bag review •Interaction check •Schedule clarity •Care coordination •Brown-bag review •Interaction check •Schedule clarity •Care coordination •Brown-bag review •Interaction check •Schedule clarity •Care coordination •Brown-bag review •Interaction check •Schedule clarity •Care coordination •
BringEvery bottle, inhaler, drop, cream, vitamin, and supplement
IncludeDose, timing, reason, prescriber, and how you actually take it
Do notStop, double, split, or combine medicines without professional guidance
The brown-bag method
Put the complete medication story on the table.
Bringing the actual containers can uncover differences between the medical record, the pharmacy list, and what happens at home.
1
Gather every product
Include prescriptions from every clinician, OTC pain and cold products, sleep aids, antacids, eye or ear drops, creams, inhalers, vitamins, herbals, and other supplements.
2
Explain how you use each one
Share the dose, time, reason, missed doses, products taken only as needed, side effects, cost barriers, and who prescribed or recommended each item.
3
Leave with one reconciled list
Confirm what to take, when and why to take it, which questions require another prescriber or pharmacist, and how future changes will be recorded.
Why the list changes with age
A familiar medicine can deserve a fresh review.
A medicine that was useful years ago may still be right, but changes in the body, health conditions, other prescriptions, and daily routines can change its benefits or risks.
More interactions to consider
Prescription medicines, OTC products, supplements, food, and alcohol can change one another's effects or add to drowsiness, bleeding, blood pressure changes, or other risks.
Different side-effect patterns
Dizziness, confusion, sleepiness, constipation, urinary difficulty, or poor appetite can be mistaken for aging or a new illness unless medicines are reviewed.
Several prescribers, one person
Primary care can help reconcile instructions across specialists and pharmacies, while involving the original prescriber when a treatment decision belongs with that clinician.
Turn a list into a care tool
A medication name alone is not enough information.
Each item should answer practical questions that help patients, caregivers, clinicians, pharmacists, and emergency teams understand the current plan.
| Compare | What to record | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Product name, strength, form, and whether it is prescription, OTC, vitamin, herbal, or another supplement. | Products with similar names or ingredients can be confused, and combination products can unintentionally duplicate an ingredient. |
| Instructions | How much you take, what time, with or without food, and whether it is scheduled or used only as needed. | The written prescription and the real routine may differ. Timing, food, missed doses, and as-needed use can change effects and safety. |
| Purpose and source | Why you take it, who prescribed or recommended it, and which condition or symptom it is intended to address. | A clear purpose helps the care team assess whether the medicine is still meeting a current need and who should answer change-related questions. |
| Experience | Benefits noticed, side effects, falls, confusion, swallowing difficulty, cost concerns, and doses you skip or alter. | A plan that cannot be followed safely, afforded, swallowed, or remembered needs discussion rather than silent workarounds. |
Keep the reconciled list with you, share it with each health professional and a trusted person, and update it whenever a product or dose changes.
Questions for each medicine
A review should connect benefit, risk, and daily use.
The purpose is not to remove medicines automatically. It is to identify discrepancies, interactions, unwanted effects, monitoring needs, and questions that deserve a shared decision.
4
questions keep the review focused without assuming that a long list is automatically the wrong list
01
Is it helping the intended problem?
Clarify the original reason, current benefit, and whether the condition, treatment goal, or available evidence has changed.
02
Could it be causing a problem?
Look for side effects, duplicate ingredients, interactions, allergy concerns, falls, confusion, bleeding, constipation, or other new symptoms.
03
Is monitoring up to date?
Some medicines need laboratory tests, blood pressure or glucose checks, symptom review, or another follow-up to confirm benefit and safety.
04
Can the plan be followed correctly?
Complex timing, unreadable labels, swallowing problems, cost, memory, dexterity, or multiple pharmacies may require practical support or prescriber input.
Medication safety
Know when a medicine question cannot wait for a routine review.
If you think the wrong product or dose was taken, do not guess at a home remedy. Get immediate guidance and keep the container available.
Call 911
Severe reaction, overdose symptoms, or loss of consciousness
Call for severe trouble breathing, swelling of the face or throat, seizure, collapse, inability to wake, severe chest pain, stroke signs, or another life-threatening reaction.
Call 911. Keep the medicine containers nearby for responders and do not make the person vomit unless a professional directs you.
Get immediate expert guidance
A wrong medicine, double dose, or possible interaction
For a suspected poisoning or dosing error without life-threatening symptoms, contact Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 and the relevant clinician or pharmacist for instructions.
Have the product name, strength, amount, time taken, age, symptoms, and other medicines ready. Do not wait for symptoms to appear.
Schedule a review
The list is confusing or a new problem appeared
Book a review for dizziness, falls, memory or sleep changes, side effects, duplicate bottles, several prescribers, recent hospital care, or uncertainty about what to take.
Keep taking prescribed medicines as directed unless a qualified professional gives you a different instruction.
Never stop, restart, double, split, crush, or share a medicine based only on general website information. Some abrupt changes can cause serious harm.
One medication list, connected care
Medication safety supports memory, mobility, and chronic-disease care.
A reconciled list becomes more useful when it travels with the patient and stays connected to falls, thinking changes, laboratory monitoring, and every treating clinician.
Questions patients ask
Clear answers before your next visit
Use these answers to prepare for a conversation with your care team.
Bring every prescription bottle, OTC medicine, vitamin, herbal, supplement, inhaler, drop, cream, and injectable product you use. Include items taken only as needed, products from other clinicians, your pharmacy information, allergies, recent laboratory results, and any written medication lists.
The chart, pharmacy record, specialist list, and home routine may not match. Bottles can reveal the exact strength, old or duplicate prescriptions, directions, prescribers, and products missing from the record. Explain how you actually take each item.
Yes. Vitamins, herbals, and dietary supplements can interact with prescription or OTC medicines, affect laboratory tests, or add unwanted effects. Bring the container or a clear photo of its label and dose.
No. Age or the number of medicines alone does not determine the plan. A review considers the reason for each product, current benefit, side effects, interactions, kidney and liver function, treatment goals, and which prescriber should be involved in any change.
Do not stop or change a prescribed medicine on your own. Some medicines can cause harm if stopped abruptly. Contact the prescribing clinician or pharmacist promptly, describe the symptoms and timing, and ask for specific instructions. Call 911 for severe or life-threatening symptoms.
Update it whenever a medicine, dose, schedule, or supplement changes and after a hospital, emergency, specialist, or pharmacy transition. Review it periodically and carry a current copy that includes allergies, the purpose of each medicine, and prescriber information.
Evidence behind this guide
Reliable information, connected to a real visit.
This educational guide uses current public health and clinical sources. It does not diagnose a condition or replace advice from a clinician who knows your history.
- 5 Medication Safety Tips for Older AdultsU.S. Food and Drug Administration
- Create and Keep a Medication List for Your HealthU.S. Food and Drug Administration
- As You Age: You and Your MedicinesU.S. Food and Drug Administration
- Taking Medicines Safely as You AgeNational Institute on Aging
- Poison Help and the National Poison Center LineHealth Resources and Services Administration
Senior medication review in Naples
Bring the bottles. Build one list everyone can use.
Call Faithful Care to request a medication review and ask how to prepare prescription, OTC, vitamin, supplement, pharmacy, and prescriber information.