Medication management is essential in helping patients to enjoy their best quality of life possible, while avoiding over-medication which can lead to side effects and dependency.  Doctors aim to provide the correct dose of a single medication, or ideal combination of medications, that create a sense of well-being and allow a person to live their life to the fullest.

In a medication management treatment plan, doctors develop both a short term and a long term strategy for each patient.  Drug efficacy is assessed along with how each drug works for specific individuals.  Patients should discuss with their doctor any herbal supplements that they are taking, as well as any dietary changes that could alter brain chemistry.  These factors will have an impact on the treatment plan.

Multiple health care providers work together to monitor each patients’ condition through their appointments together, so the right types of medications are provided at the right dosages.  This may include changing the types of drugs used, decreases in the amount prescribed, or even the addition of new drugs which may have less side effects, less risk of dependency, or provide a short-term solution to other health challenges.

Many people rely on various medications to alter the balance of chemicals that affect the neurotransmitters in the brain controlling mood, behavior, and personality.  Through treatment, they are sometimes prescribed more and more drugs for other symptoms that develop, such as anxiety, attention issues, and memory problems.  Those who rely on these drugs as their only treatment may also feel more intense feelings of suicide.  Decreasing the overall requirement for drugs as mental health improves can lead to longer-lasting improvements while decreasing the need for concurrent drug therapies.

Since each patient’s situation can be highly complex and involve many potential interactions, these doctors pay close attention to each case, note areas of progress, and work on shifting medications for the areas that need the most focus.  A goal is to reduce the amount of medications needed to the lowest amount that achieves the desired effect, which minimizes the chance for side effects, dependency, and negative interactions.

Medication management also minimizes the chances of accidental abuse by patients for the drugs they are prescribed.  Sometimes patients take too much or too little of a drug, or miss doses entirely.  These mistakes can lead to negative alterations in brain chemistry that can be avoided as patients and doctors work together as a team to monitor what medications work the best.  This allows patients to be less dependent on medicines for their mental health.  Not only does this help them to feel more like themselves, but there is less chance that they may miss doses or accidentally take the wrong prescription.