The use of multiple medicines, a greater prevalence of chronic health conditions and normal body changes caused by aging can increase the likelihood of potential problems with medicines for many seniors, according to experts in the field of aging.

With this issue in mind, the Council on Family Health (CFH) has updated its educational guide, Medicines and You: A Guide for Older Americans. The educational guide gives facts about drug interactions, tips for talking to health professionals and ideas on ways seniors can cut medicine costs. The 15-page guide also features My Medicine Record, a chart on which seniors can list the medicines they take and other relevant health information.

The more seniors know about their medicines and the more they communicate with their health professionals, the better their chances are for avoiding possible problems with medicines.

CFH and the National Council on Aging (NCOA) have also partnered to launch a program on safe medicine use for seniors. The program includes a kit for seniors entitled Don’t mix and Match Your, Medicines to be used in workshops on safe and responsible medicine use.

The kit, which will be distributed via NCOA’s nationwide Consumer Information Network, features educational materials, as well as tools to conduct senior center workshops. CFH’s medicines and you guide is included in the kit. A free copy of Medicines and You: A Guide for Older Americans is available by sending a self-addressed envelope to: Council on Family Health, Medicines and You, 1155 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20036. My Medicine Record and a tip sheet on safe medicine use for older Americans are available on the CFH web site at www.cfhinfo.org. More information about the Don’t Mix and Match Your Medicines workshop kit for senior centers is available from NCOA’s Glendale Johnson at 877-390-7828.

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