Medication Management
Our nurse practitioner diagnoses and manages mental health disorders through prescribing medications and providing brief psychotherapies to our clients.
What Is Medication Management?
Medication is an important part in the total recovery process. Moods are influenced by chemicals in the brain. When there is an imbalance of these chemicals, it can affect mood and behavior in a negative way. These are areas that the individual cannot control. The right medications can help rebalance those brain chemicals and help the patient in mental health recovery.
However, for the patient, sometimes it is difficult to understand which drugs are beneficial for their condition and what potential side effects can be. This is where medication management comes in. After we take a history of the patient’s mental and physical health, a history of the family’s health, a history of the medications taken by the patient, and the symptoms that the patient is currently experiencing, our specialist reviews the information and determines the most appropriate medication protocol that can alleviate these symptoms.
Who Needs Medication Management?
Because everyone’s physical and mental health is unique, how one person reacts to a medication can be different from how another person reacts to it. So, medication management is needed by any patient who is prescribed a psychiatric medicine. After the initial dosage is prescribed, the patient’s symptoms are monitored and evaluated for a period of time during follow-up visits to determine if the medication and dosage are effective.
If the patient feels better, but still not quite enough, the specialist can adjust the dosage. If the patient reports little change, or if side effects are not tolerable, the medication can be replaced with another medicine. The goal is to find the right medicine or a combination of medicines, at the right dosage, that provides the greatest benefits to the patient.
What Are The Benefits Of Medication Management?
Medication management is an essential part of the integrated treatment protocol that includes counseling, therapy, and other support services. It supports the patient in using the prescriptions properly every day. Any adverse drug interactions are prevented because the treatment team has a record of the current medicines that the patient is taking including other prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines.
Supplements are also considered. By closely monitoring the patient’s symptoms, side effects are reduced, and over-prescribing can be avoided. The right medicine at the right dosage can make a big difference.
Identifying the proper medication and dosage for an individual is not an exact science. Because each individual is different, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Medication protocols are tailored to the individual patient’s needs and must be managed by a professional in order for the patient to receive the full benefits. The right medicine at the most appropriate dosage is one of the keys to feeling better. Contact our specialist to discuss your medication regimen so you can be well on your way to recovery.