Medication dispensing

You may be charged with administering medications for your loved one. Your RN Case Manager will review medication dosing with you. Always be sure to wash your hands thoroughly before and after administering medications of any kind.

For administering Pills, capsules or caplets be sure to follow directions of if medication is to be taken with or without food, and the time of day. If the person has trouble swallowing, you may need to put the pill into pudding or apple sauce to make it go down easier. Always follow with water. Some medications you may need to crush or open the capsule and mix into the pudding or applesauce. If you do this be sure that they consume all of what you put it in so that the dosage is accurate.

The most commonly used medication in hospice for shortness of breath and/or pain is Morphine Sulfate. This is ordered by the patient’s physician and comes in either pill or liquid form.

As a liquid, care must be taken not to spill the medication when breaking the seal on the bottle. To dispense the morphine a plastic plunger needs to be inserted into the opening of the bottle. Once the plunger is in place the enclosed reusable syringe is inserted (make sure everything is tightly connected). The morphine bottle is then inverted, and the morphine is withdrawn to the prescribed dosage. To dispense the morphine, turn the bottle along with the syringe attached "right side up". You may then unscrew the syringe and dispense into the patient's mouth - under their tongue. The morphine is colored blue to help you see how much is in the syringe. The syringe is reusable, so wash it between uses.

These videos are produced by Angelic Health solely for educational purposes. The information included is not a substitute for professional medical advice. All content including, text, graphics, images and communication is for general information purposes only and is not all - encompassing. Discuss your questions and concerns with your Case Manager or call Angelic Health at 609-822-7979 anytime.