Because it is a concrete issue directly impacting resident health status, medication management policies are often at the core of debates regarding broader AL policies, practices, and regulations. We suggest that decisions regarding medication management would be strengthened by recognizing that rather than subscribing to a simple dichotomy of a social model or medical model of care, policy and practice would benefit from dialogue that integrates key elements of both social and medical models to specifically address medication management in AL. After reviewing the definition of the social and medical models and providing case-based data that summarize how some AL staff, residents, and families describe their own medication management experiences, we will articulate a stance on the proper intersection of the medical and social models of care for medication management in AL.