藥事照顧的新藍海：論家庭照顧者給藥管理工作與相關支持策略

The New Era of Pharmaceutical Care: Family Caregiver Medication Administration Work and Related Supportive Strategies

隨著國內高齡社會伴隨的長期照顧服務需求上升，藥師應省思自身於長照體系中的角色定位與能夠提供之協助。有別於過去以病人為導向之藥物處方評估，藥師可進一步將其專業拓展至協助家庭照顧者執行日常給藥管理工作。在長期照顧的範圍中，藥物日常使用及管理確實與否，對病人的疾病控制至關重要。而長時間協助被照顧者執行給藥管理工作對家庭照顧者產生的挫折與不便，將使得照顧困難度提高，並增加照顧者負荷。相較於醫療人員，家庭照顧者的照護專業性相對不足，故協助照顧者執行日常給藥管理工作實有其必要性。有鑑於藥師在長期照顧領域中肩負著維護民眾用藥安全的責任，對病人進行療效監測同時亦須同理及關注給藥管理工作對家庭照顧者所產生之負荷及壓力，並及時給予協助及緩解。本文透過探討家庭照顧者給藥管理工作及衍生之照顧負荷，提出藥師可運用其專業進行介入之通則性建議，重新定調藥學專業未來在長照居家藥事照顧服務之可行方向。

With the increasing demand for long-term care services in the aged society in Taiwan, pharmacists should redefine their role in the long-term care service system and consider the type of assistance they can provide to meet the surging demand for family care in the elderly. Different from the past patient-oriented evaluation of drug prescriptions, pharmacists can further expand their expertise to assist family caregivers in performing daily drug administration tasks. In the scope of long-term family care, assisting elderly patients with daily medication use and management is essential to family caregivers to ensure patient’s disease control. However, family caregivers usually feel stressed and frustrated while performing medication administration works due to insufficient skills and knowledge. Such obstacles will increase the difficulty of care and negatively impact the quality of care. Compared with healthcare professionals, family caregivers are relatively unprepared for patients’daily caregiving; thus, it is crucial to assist family caregivers in medication administration. Since pharmacists are responsible for ensuring the effectiveness and safety of people’s daily medication use, it is not only necessary to monitor the effect of patients’medication treatment plan but also pay attention to the burden and need relevant to medication administration on family caregivers. This article aimed to explore the family caregiver medication administration work and its related care burden, puts forward general recommendations regarding redefining the vision and direction of the pharmacy profession in the long-term home pharmaceutical care services in the future.