Drug Reactions Of The Elderly Population Greater Than 65 Years

Hello Professor. I agree that medications are the magic solution to treat diseases if they are used appropriately. For example, when antipsychotic medications are not used correctly could lead to functional decline and cognitive impairment. The health care professionals’ knowledge of safe medication use, risks and benefits, and the drug-related problem are important when taking care of elderly patients. “In 2015, the AGS Beers Criteria were again updated by an expert panel of healthcare and pharmacy experts to help prevent potential medication side effects and other medication-related problems in older adults” (Health in Aging, 2015). It is pivotal to use the guidelines of Beers Criteria in our daily practice to prevent inappropriate use of

Senior citizens are the people who are most likely to take multiple medications due to the occurring chronic conditions as the aging process continues. Given the several medicines they take, they are ironically the age group that is very much sensitive to medication side effects, both therapeutic and negative.

The US is an aging society like many societies around the world and as a result, there is an increase in the number of patients admitted to nursing homes. The elderly population is a fragile population that undergoes mental and physical decline in health. This increases the number of medications used, which increase the risk of adverse drug reactions due to drug-drug and drug-disease interactions. Pharmacists have become increasingly active in nursing homes by providing medication therapy management services, but the benefit in reducing prevalence of these adverse drug reactions is not fully understood. Medication therapy management is a growing field that has been incorporated by pharmacists in different states to optimize therapeutic outcomes in individual patients. Understanding the relationship between medication management and drug- drug

As the elderly population increases so will the occurrences of ADEs. For this reason, it is important to protect the elderly patient from these negative consequences of polypharmacy. This is accomplished by understanding how the aging body reacts to medications, understanding which drugs are the most problematic for the elderly patient, and how to spot a drug-related problem and

They continue taking drugs that may be unnecessary or unsuitable. According to Gayathri J. Dowling, Susan R. B. Weiss and Timothy P. Condon, authors of “Drug Abuse and the Aging Brain”, the dynamic nature of the brain suggests that drug abuse in older adults may have unique consequences that influence drugs’ effects in the brain. The abundant amount of medication found in the everyday lives of elderly patients is alarming and can do much more harm than good. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services stated in a 2014 action plan that older adults account for 35% of all hospital stays and more than half of those visits are marred by drug-related

Polypharmacy among the elderly is a growing concern in U.S. healthcare system. Patients who have comorbities and take multiple medications are at a higher risk for potential adverse drug reactions. There is a great need for nursing interventions in conducting a patient medication review also known as “brown bag”. As nurses obtain history data from patients at a provider visit, the nurse should ask “what medications are you taking?” and the answer needs to include over-the-counter medications as well. If the response does not include any medications other than prescribed meds, it is incumbent upon the nursing professionals to question the patient further to ensure that no over-the-counter medications or supplements are

Dosing. Physiologic changes in the elderly make medication dosing tricky. Adjustments have to be made owing to age-related reduction in liver and kidney functions, as well as the presence of coexisting comorbidities and use of other medications for these pre-existing conditions. The BEERS list, a compilation of potentially harmful medications to the elderly, was drafted in an attempt to curb the rising incidence of avoidable adverse medication effects in this population.

During a interview with County Pharmacists Associations newly elected president, Lillian Shisehaunt, pharmacist, said there were a few concerns that needed to be made aware of. She began to speak the concerns about how older people are taking way too many medications at the same time. In this meeting, other pharmacist agreed to the statement stated as well.

Polypharmacy in the elderly is a concern identified through research in the US and in other parts of the world. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2010) reported that when assess the percentage of American using multiple prescription drugs in a month in 2007-2008, older adults, age sixty and over, were the highest with 76% using two or more prescribed drugs and 37% using five or more. In other words, prescription drug used seems to increase with age. In 2013, the CDC reported that between the years of 2007-2010, 50% of the

The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of many commonly used drugs vary significantly across all age groups. Adverse Drug Reactions are one of the major concerns in the elderly. Adverse drug reactions, especially those that may be preventable, are among the most serious concerns about medication use in elderly in clinical setting. The incidence of adverse drug reactions in patients more than 60 years old compared with younger patients (age less than 30 years) increased by two or threefold. The ageing process is associated with physiological and pathological changes. It then makes individuals at a higher risk of multiple morbidity and treatment-related complications. Predisposing factors to adverse drug reactions which have been noted including

If your doctor prescribes you multiple medications to manage and prevent various health conditions you’re not alone. In fact, research shows that roughly half of the adult population age 65 and older takes five or more medications each week. While medication can be beneficial (and sometimes necessary), managing multiple prescriptions may prove overwhelming. Below, a pharmacist from Archdale Drug in Archdale, NC offers five tips to help keep things organized.

Hospital readmission rates among the elderly are steadily becoming a growing topic of concern. Robinson, Esquivel, and Vlahov (2012) describe readmission or re-hospitalization "as a return to the hospital shortly after discharge from a recent hospital stay" (p. 338). The elderly, defined as 60 years of age and older, account for the highest hospital readmission rates in comparison to other age groups (Robinson, Esquivel, & Vlahov, 2012). With medical advances, life expectancy is on the rise, which means older people will have more comorbidities and consequently be required to take more medications for symptom management. Generally when a person takes anywhere from two-nineteen medications, the term "polypharmacy" is introduced (Pasina et al., 2014). In hospital settings polypharmacy is not an issue because there are nurses and medical providers to address questions and concerns, administer medications, and monitor a patient for potential adverse effects. However, once discharge occurs, this patient is left to juggle all aspects of their care on their own. A plan of care formulated to improve the elderly population 's quality of life outside of the hospital, speaks to one of the Institute of Medicine 's (IOM) core competencies, applying quality improvement.

Polypharmacy is the use of many different drugs concurrently in treating patient who often has several health problems. The growing geriatric population consumes the largest proportion of all medication than of other population groups. In Canada alone, one in three older adults takes more than 8 different drugs each day, and some take as many as 15 or more (Lilley, 2011). Polypharmacy can lead to what is known as the “prescribing cascade”, in which older adults develop adverse effects from one or more of the medications taken and the health care provider then prescribe another drug. The risk for drug interactions, adverse effects, and hospitalization is far greater in this situation. Acknowledging polypharmacy in a patients and

The majority of seniors over the age of 65 take multiple medications. In fact, the average senior takes between 8 and13 medications every day. According to the National Institute for Health, over 50 percent of seniors do not take their medication as prescribed. Adding to problems with medication, the tiny print on bottles and data sheets makes it hard for seniors with deteriorating eyesight to read. Cognitive issues and memory problems further complicate issues. As a result, mistakes with medication are one of the top reasons seniors end up in the emergency room and they are the primary reason seniors are readmitted to the hospital after a discharge.

Polypharmacy is primarily defined as the concurrent use of five or more medications by a patient, and is widely seen in older adults. The frequency of polypharmacy in elderly patients likely reflects the necessity to treat acute ailments, chronic disease states and co-morbid conditions. While the use of combination drug therapy is often necessary, the combination of aging, inappropriate prescribing and polypharmacy can result in significant adverse events, drug-drug interactions, increased fall risk and hospitalizations. Studies indicate that approximately 50% of elderly patients are prescribed medications with no clinical benefit or indication.[1]Geriatric patents are more susceptible to adverse drug events due to physiological changes, therefore it is imperative to understand..