Increasing Stroke Patients' Success in Self-Medication Programs Using an Interdisciplinary Cognitive Rehabilitation Approach

Rehabilitation programs strive to help patients become more independent in all aspects of daily living. Therefore, management of a patient's healthcare requirements should be an integral part of the rehabilitation program, including management of medications. Some rehabilitation programs implement self‐medication programs (SMP); however, patients with cognitive deficits are often excluded. This study explored whether patients with cognitive deficits due to stroke could successfully complete an SMP using an interdisciplinary cognitive rehabilitation approach. Twenty‐seven stroke patients and 36 debilitated patients with cognitive deficits participated in an SMP. A nurse and a pharmacist educated patients on their medications, and a speech‐language pathologist provided cognitive rehabilitation to the stroke patients, which incorporated information from the SMP. Eighty‐one percent of the stroke patients successfully completed the SMP, compared to 36% of the debilitated patients. Thus, an interdisciplinary approach to medication management for cognitively impaired stroke patients holds promise.