Senior Living Residences & Dovetail Health Launch Medication Assessment Program

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Senior Living Residences & Dovetail Health
Launch Groundbreaking Medication Management Program for Aging Adults

Boston, MA (November 5, 2007) – Senior Living Residences of Boston, MA has formed a unique partnership with Dovetail Health of Needham, MA and launched a groundbreaking program to evaluate the medication status of seniors who reside in, or plan to move into, assisted living communities. Senior Living Residences owns and manages assisted living communities throughout eastern Massachusetts. Dovetail Health is dedicated to helping aging Americans live independently by monitoring and managing their health and medication needs.

Recent studies show that up to 30 percent of hospitalizations among older adults can be attributed to medication mismanagement and 88 percent of the adverse reactions are preventable.

"Working with Dovetail Health on medication awareness and management is a natural extension of our commitment to providing service-enriched assisted living care services that enhance our residents’ independence and quality of life," said Robert Larkin, Principal and Co-Founder of Senior Living Residences.

Under the Dovetail/Senior Living Residences medication management program, seniors at Senior Living Residences’ assisted living communities receive a “Comprehensive Medication Check-Up.” Residents and families meet personally with an experienced clinical pharmacist who provides a thorough evaluation of each resident’s medications. A summary report identifies potential medication conflicts and related safety risks, provides personalized medication charts that families and residents can share with physicians, identifies possible medication-related issues and suggests particular questions that families may want to pose to physicians. SLR’s partnership with Dovetail Health is a first-of-its-kind program that offers this innovative service for residents in assisted living.

Gordon Fong, whose father lives at The BayView, a Senior Living Residences community in South Boston, says, "Our Dovetail Pharmacist took the time to educate me and my father on the uses of the medications, as well as the side effects. With an organized and full report tailored from my father’s medical history, we will be able to reduce miscommunications and avoid overlapping medications between our different physicians."

"Too often older Americans are taking multiple medications from different doctors without coordination, putting them at risk of medication related problems that can worsen diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic conditions," said Stever Aubrey, CEO of Dovetail Health. "This reality, accompanied by the explosive growth of the senior population, creates a huge burden on our healthcare system."

"Given the complex health needs of older Americans today, services like Dovetail's Comprehensive Medication Check-Up are a necessity. It helps us provide our residents the independent lifestyle they've come to expect, with a stronger medication management service in place to support their health and safety,” said Peter Mullin, Principal and Co-Founder of  Senior Living Residences.

The program is ongoing with further expansion planned after an evaluation phase is completed.

For a pdf version of this Press Release, click here.

Dovetail Health is an innovative home health service that provides high quality health management support and daily health monitoring for seniors. For more information visit the Dovetail web site or call 866.566.DOVE

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