What is "Pop & Dot" Medication Management?

Proper medication management is essential in senior living communities, as it greatly affects residents' health, safety, and quality of life. If you're the owner of a senior living community, you may be concerned about the impact poor medication management can have on your residents. You're not alone.

Medication errors and mismanagement are all too common in healthcare. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, medication errors are responsible for up to 47% of adverse events in hospitals alone, leading to increased hospitalizations, longer stays, and even death.

Investing in a solution to medication mismanagement in your senior living community is crucial. One option is Pop & Dot medication management. This innovative approach to medication management uses visual aids — such as coloured dots and pop-up reminders — to help caregivers manage medications more effectively.

Read on for more on how Pop & Dot medication works and how it benefits senior living communities.

Traditional Medications Management vs. eMAR

Traditional medication management in senior living communities typically involves a lot of paperwork and manual processes. Caregivers must track medication schedules, dosages, and administration times on paper, leaving room for errors and miscommunication between staff members. This traditional approach can be time-consuming and lead to medication errors, putting residents at risk.

Electronic medication administration records (eMARs) offer a more efficient and accurate solution to medication management. They have several features that set them apart.

The Benefits of eMAR

Senior living eMARs offer several notable benefits to senior living communities that can increase the quality of care and improve resident satisfaction.

Improves Medication Management

An eMAR can reduce the risk of errors and keep all staff members on the same page. Caregivers can use senior living eMARs to set reminders and notifications, ensuring that medications are taken on time and in the correct dosages. 

Additionally, eMAR systems often include built-in safeguards and alerts to help prevent medication errors and promote compliance. All of these features work together to improve medication management and help ensure that residents receive the care they need to maintain their health and well-being.

Helps Track Medication Administration

In addition to reducing errors, eMARs can streamline medication administration, allowing caregivers to spend more time providing care and less time on paperwork. Your caregivers can track medication schedules, dosages, and administration times electronically. 

This can improve the overall quality of care in senior living communities and increase resident satisfaction.

Easily Integrates Into Existing Processes 

Most senior living eMAR systems are user-friendly and intuitive, making it easy for caregivers to adapt to the new system. 

In addition, you can often customize eMAR systems to fit the unique needs of your senior living community. Your caregivers can continue using their preferred medication administration methods while benefiting from the efficiency and accuracy of electronic record-keeping.

The benefits of eMAR, compared with traditional MARs, don't stop there. For a more in-depth analysis of MARs vs. eMARs, take a look at our Essentials: eMAR post.

What Is Pop & Dot?

Pop & Dot medication management is a visual aid system that helps caregivers in senior living communities manage medication schedules more effectively. It uses colour-coded dots and pop-up reminders to indicate medication times and dosages, reducing the risk of errors and miscommunication between staff members.

The name Pop & Dot comes from the process of "popping" pills out of their packaging and then "dotting" (marking) a record or chart to indicate that the medication has been administered.

For example, say a resident requires medication three times a day, at 9 a.m., 1 p.m., and 5 p.m. The senior living eMAR system would send pop-up notifications at or before 9 a.m., 1 p.m., and 5 p.m. to remind your caregivers, who administer the medication based on the corresponding colour. 

Caregivers will remove the medication from their pre-organized blister packs. Once they administer the medications, they place coloured dots on the resident's MAR chart to indicate that the medicines have been given. This ensures that your residents take their medications on time and in the correct dosage. You can even set some systems up to send alerts if a medication is missed, adding an additional layer of security.

How Does Pop & Dot Work?

eMARs and the Pop & Dot system work in tandem to improve medication management. The Pop & Dot system itself involves three simple steps. 

Verification

The Pop & Dot process begins with the "Pop" stage: verification. This feature helps you verify and check off all the medications in the strip packaging.

Administration

Once your caregiver has verified the medications and the resident has taken their medication, it's time to move on to the "Dot" phase: administration.

To complete this stage in the eMAR system, all your caregiver has to do is give the resident their medication and click the "Administer all" button.

Sign-off

Once your caregiver clicks the "Administer all" button, all the medications will be signed off at once. This streamlines the documentation process, removing the need for time-consuming and error-prone manual paper recordings.

The system will also show which team member administered the medication, the patient it was given to, and at what time, ensuring accountability and keeping everyone on the same page.

Stepping Into Better Medication Management

Using visual aids like coloured dots and electronic pop-up reminders allows Pop & Dot medication management to help caregivers manage medication better. It reduces the risk of errors and improves overall resident safety and well-being. 

Implementing this innovative approach is a simple yet effective way to ensure your residents receive the best possible care. With reduced medication errors, you can improve resident satisfaction, minimize the risk of hospitalization, and maintain your community's reputation as a safe and reliable care provider.

But Pop & Dot medication management is just one piece of the puzzle. To maximize the effectiveness of your senior living community, you need a comprehensive CRM tool that includes senior living eMARs and medication management features, as well as other critical features like lead tracking, communication tracking, and more.

Med-e Care provides Canada's most comprehensive senior living technology solution, equipping you with all the tools you need to manage your community better and improve resident satisfaction. Request a demo today to begin your journey toward a better, safer senior living community.