The ALF won't let him use his own pharmacy. Any advice on dealing with this?

My Mom was in a small AL, 39 rooms. She had to use the pharmacy associated with the AL. She was able to use her own insurance and her own Dr. So the Nurse would call Moms doctor if felt she even needed an OTC pain killer. They had to have a prescription. I found that the OTC was more than I would have paid. Before I was always looking for sales especially buy one get one free but loved that the AL took care of everything. No resident, even those who were competent, was allowed medications in their rooms even OTC. This was a good thing. You want to think staff are honest, but easier to steal a person's med when in their room.

Just tell Dad that the AL distributing his meds is their policy.

Thank you both for your quick responses! It actually looks like they weren't as shady in his re-evaluation of that level of care. They will let him administer his own meds as of today.

What your father tells you and the truth may be two different things, as most of us learn when we have parents in Assisted Living! Fact checking is vital, b/c they tend to interpret things a lot differently than what they're told, number one.

Number two, the medication administration program differs from ALF to ALF. In my mother's place, for instance, the doctor was NOT the one to 'put' her on the program; I was, as her POA. I decided to utilize their med program when she was making too many mistakes administering her own meds and when using her own pharmacy became way too much of an ordeal for ME, frankly. Using one own's pharmacy has little value, in reality, b/c the elder's insurance program pays for their meds no matter WHICH pharmacy is used! The co pay is the co pay, regardless. Plus, I have not seen a big difference in cost between the pharmacy the ALF uses and Walgreens, to be honest. Using the on site/ALF pharmacy is SO MUCH easier, it's amazing. Should there be a med change ordered by the doc, it's all handled by the staff at the ALF vs. you or your dad having to arrange the med pick up at his personal pharmacy. So in reality, using the pharmacy of dad's choice creates more aggravation than it cures. At least in my opinion and experience with AL life for 5 years.

That said, if you are your father's POA, just call over to the ALF and ask them about their 'shady' practices with regard to all of this. Hear it from THEM what their policies are about going on and off their medication administration program and what it entails. Your father should have access to any and all of his medical records and so should you as his POA, if you do have it.

While elders want to maintain their independence for as long as possible, when it comes to medication management, that can be a dangerous place to exert 'independence'. I used to find my mother's pills in coffee cups in the cabinet and under her easy chair ALL the time. That's when I made the decision to get her onto the medication program offered at the ALF; it was for her own protection, really, and to insure she'd get her meds on time and in the right doses.

Wishing you the best of luck.

Depends on level of care. Usually this is an MD decision, saying a senior needs help with medications. Then they use their pharmacy which delivers for all residents and usually individually packaged products. One level one the person is competent to get and to administer own medications. My brother did this with his single baby aspirin daily. If the senior is considered at all at risk from self-administering, then that isn't allowed and the level of care is bumped up to a level 2 care, and more expensive; medications are given by med nurse and patient monitored with med.