What Is the Process of Medication Management?

The two most common treatment options for treating mental health disorders are psychotherapy and medication. These are known as behavioral health treatments. The most effective treatment approach involves a combination of the two.

Those who have no treatment experience but struggle with their mental health may wonder if they would benefit from prescription medication. In general, many people achieve relief with medication to manage their mental health symptoms. Still, trialing medication is not as simple as receiving a professional evaluation and getting a prescription. To ensure that your prescription is a good fit for you, you must go through the medication management process.

What is medication management for mental health treatment?

Medication management is a strategy that mental health professionals and patients use to minimize the potential risks that can result from taking prescription medication. Because prescription medications are controlled substances, they must be treated as such. This strategy helps to reduce negative aspects such as safety risks, opioid over-prescribing and medication misuse and abuse. Additionally, medication management is used to increase the effectiveness of medication by way of professional healthcare monitoring.

Several components of medication management come together to make this approach valuable. It may be helpful to keep in mind the following when investigating the efficacy of medication management for your treatment journey:

Medication management takes time.

It requires healthcare professionals to understand a detailed history of your response to past medications, the presence of co-occurring disorders or dual diagnoses and familial history.

Medication management helps you understand potential risks and side effects.

The process of medication management involves thorough education about the health risks and potential side effects that can result from use. This is not to scare you but to provide you with as full a cost-benefit analysis as possible.

Medication management allows for adjustments.

This process involves intimate and ongoing discussion with your healthcare professional about how you are responding to your medication. For the best results with medication, you should check in frequently so that your doctor can adjust medications as needed. In addition, your doctor will ensure that you are responding adequately and that you remain healthy throughout the process.

Medication management is the most effective when used alongside psychotherapy in mental health treatment.

Receiving treatment from a facility that offers medication management can be valuable because your healthcare team will encourage participation in psychotherapy, which can complement the effects of medication and increase its effectiveness.

Medication management is individualized.

If you didn’t know, medication management is often utilized as a part of individualized treatment plans. Facilities that utilize individualized treatment can be beneficial as you try your medication. This is because they work to create a treatment regimen that is personalized to fit your unique needs and goals.

There are five “rights” of medication use in mental health treatment.

Medication management emphasizes the five “rights” of medication use. These rights are helpful for both healthcare professionals and patients alike.

The five rights are as follows:

#1 The Right Patient

First, healthcare providers must ensure that the medication that they are giving to a patient is that patient’s correct medication. Similarly, as a patient, when you are instructed to take a medication, you must confirm that your name is on the medication bottle. This can be especially important for households that have several family members taking different medications. In addition, confirm the right patient when you are prescribed more than one medication throughout the day.

#2 The Right Drug

Healthcare providers and patients alike must ensure that they are checking both the label and the bottle of medication. The label must match the patient’s name. Again, this is essential because medication bottles may look similar or you may take more than one medication throughout the day.

#3 The Right Time

Patients must ensure that they are taking their medication at the correct time every day. It may be helpful to use a schedule or set an alarm.

Many dosing mistakes happen unintentionally due to miscommunication with healthcare professionals. To avoid this, you can ask your mental health professional about when and how often you should take your medication. If your medication is taken as needed, be sure to know the upper dosage limit.

#4 The Right Dose

Most of the time, medications are prescribed with the simplest instructions possible for the patient. All the same, some medications may require one dose daily, while others require several doses throughout the day. Ensure that you are taking the right dose of your medication by double-checking the label and confirming with your doctor.

#5 The Right Route

Most prescription medications are taken orally. However, this is not always the case. As such, it is essential to ensure that patients are taking their medication in the way it was intended. Therefore, you must double-check your medication labels to ensure that you are administering your medication correctly.

Medication management is a strategy that helps healthcare professionals tailor prescription medications to fit the unique treatment needs and goals of the patient. Associated Behavioral Health Care is a comprehensive treatment facility that utilizes medication management as a part of our treatment regimen. We walk with our patients and encourage them to utilize psychotherapy to complement their medication management process. To learn more, call ABHC at (844) 335-7384.

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