Supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities takes more than medication delivery. It takes communication, coordination, and a pharmacy partner who understands the people behind every prescription.
By Deb Maloy, RN, CDDN, Director of Clinical Education and Services at Tarrytown Expocare Pharmacy
Nurses working with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) have responsibilities that extend far beyond medication management. They are clinical resources, educators, advocates, problem-solvers, and trusted partners to the individuals they support.
On any given day, an IDD nurse may be reviewing medication changes, coordinating with multiple prescribers, supporting direct support professionals (DSPs), monitoring potential side effects, or responding to an unexpected hospitalization or change in an individual’s health.
Through it all, one priority remains constant: supporting the health, safety, dignity, and independence of each individual.
Yet pharmacy services aren’t always designed around the realities of IDD nursing.
What do nurses working in IDD services need their pharmacy partners to understand?
1. Medication Management Is More Complex Than Filling Prescriptions
For many individuals with IDD, medication regimens involve multiple prescriptions, specialists, administration schedules, and monitoring requirements.
Nurses must help ensure that medication information remains accurate and accessible across residential settings, day programs, healthcare appointments, and transitions between services.
A single medication change can create a chain of responsibilities: communicating with the prescriber, updating medication administration records, coordinating with the pharmacy, informing and training appropriate support staff, and confirming that the correct medication is available when needed.
The need: A pharmacy partner that understands how medication changes affect the individual, their support team, and their daily routines; not just the prescription being filled.
Clear communication, dependable processes, and timely coordination can help reduce administrative responsibilities while supporting consistency and medication safety.
2. Communication Needs to Be Proactive, Not Reactive
Few things create more frustration for a nursing team than discovering a medication issue at the moment a dose is due.
Whether it’s a prescription clarification, refill concern, insurance issue, or delivery question, delayed communication can create unnecessary challenges for nurses and frontline staff.
In IDD services, where nurses may oversee medication management across multiple homes or programs, those challenges can quickly multiply.
The need: Timely updates, clear escalation processes, and a pharmacy team that communicates potential issues before they become urgent.
The goal isn’t simply to resolve problems. It’s to help prevent avoidable disruptions that could affect an individual’s health, schedule, or daily activities.
3. Direct Support Professionals Are Essential Partners
In many community-based IDD settings, direct support professionals play an important role in supporting daily medication routines within their training, authorization, and applicable state requirements.
Nurses are often responsible for providing education, monitoring competency, answering questions, and helping staff recognize when something may require additional clinical attention.
That means pharmacy packaging, labeling, documentation, and communication processes must work for the people supporting medication administration every day.
The need: Pharmacy systems that are practical, understandable, and designed to support frontline workflows. Clear medication packaging, accurate administration information, accessible resources, and ongoing education can help reinforce safe medication practices.
When nurses and DSPs have the tools and information they need, they are better equipped to support each individual’s health, preferences, and established routines.
4. A Change in Behavior May Be a Sign of an Unmet Health Need
One of the most important aspects of IDD nursing is recognizing that changes in behavior can sometimes communicate something more.
An individual experiencing pain, discomfort, illness, or a medication-related concern may communicate those experiences in ways that are unique to them.
Changes in sleep, appetite, activity, mood, or behavior may be important observations that deserve further assessment. Other times it’s a sense that something is just not right.
Nurses must consider the individual’s typical routines, medical history, communication preferences, recent medication changes, and other potential contributing factors.
The need: Pharmacy partners who recognize the importance of individualized medication monitoring and take concerns about potential adverse effects seriously.
Collaborative medication reviews and timely communication with prescribers can support more informed clinical decisions.
The focus should always remain on understanding the individual, respecting their communication preferences, and identifying what may be contributing to a change in their health or well-being.
5. Technology Should Reduce Work, Not Create More of It
Electronic medication administration records (eMARs), pharmacy portals, and digital communication tools can provide valuable visibility into medication management.
But technology is only effective when it supports the way organizations and their teams actually work.
Disconnected systems, duplicate documentation, and limited access to medication information can create additional administrative responsibilities for already busy nursing teams.
The need: Technology that supports accuracy, transparency, and efficient communication.
When pharmacy systems integrate effectively with provider workflows, nurses can spend less time tracking down information and more time focusing on clinical oversight, medication safety, and the individuals they support.
6. Education Is Part of the Partnership
IDD nursing requires specialized knowledge, ongoing learning, and the ability to translate complex clinical information into practical guidance for frontline teams.
Topics such as polypharmacy, psychotropic medications, adverse effects, medication interactions, and changes in health status are especially relevant in IDD services.
Pharmacy partners have an opportunity to support nursing teams beyond the dispensing process by providing meaningful educational resources and opportunities for collaboration.
The need: Relevant education that reflects real-world IDD settings and the responsibilities of those supporting individuals.
Education should be accessible, practical, and designed to help nurses and support teams make informed decisions while respecting each individual’s needs, choices, and goals.
7. The Best Pharmacy Partnerships Understand the Mission
At the heart of IDD nursing is a commitment to supporting individuals in living healthy, meaningful lives with dignity, choice, and independence.
Medication management is an important part of that mission, but it should never overshadow the person receiving support.
Nurses need pharmacy partners who understand that behind every prescription is an individual with unique needs, preferences, routines, relationships, and goals.
That understanding influences everything from communication and medication coordination to education and service delivery.
A successful pharmacy partnership isn’t measured only by whether medications arrive on time. It’s also reflected in how effectively the pharmacy supports the individual’s receiving services and the teams working alongside them.
Building Better Partnerships Through Understanding
IDD nurses balance clinical responsibilities, regulatory requirements, staff education, and the evolving needs of the individuals they support.
They don’t need a pharmacy partner that simply adds another process to manage.
They need one that understands their challenges, communicates consistently, and works alongside them to support safe, effective, person-centered medication management.
At Tarrytown Expocare Pharmacy, our focus on individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities shapes how we approach medication management, technology, communication, and education.
We believe pharmacy should be more than a service. It should be a partnership built around the individuals who depend on us and the teams who support them.
They depend on you. You can depend on us.
Let’s Talk About Your Pharmacy Partnership
Is your pharmacy supporting your nursing team the way it should?
Learn more about Tarrytown Expocare’s specialized pharmacy services and how we partner with organizations supporting individuals with IDD.
Visit TarrytownExpocare.com to connect with our team.