Summary: Key Tips For Managing Your Medication

Polypharmacy, described as an individual taking more than four medications, can be concerning with the aging population. Polypharmacy concerns include adverse drug reactions, drug interactions, higher cost, decreased mobility, decreased quality of life and cognition impairment. Those at greater risk of negative polypharmacy consequences include elderly, psychiatric patients, recently hospitalized, individuals with multiple doctors or pharmacies and people with impaired vision or dexterity. There are times that polypharmacy is at times needed to help a person with their diagnosis, an example of this is using multiple medications to treat congestive heart failure which can include digoxin, diuretics, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors

As a critical care nurse the concern with medication shortages really hits home. In my current practice I have been asked by our hospital pharmacy to decrease the amount of Ativan given to a patient because the supply was low and they did not have any more to restock our omnicell. I am unsure the reason behind this particular shortage, but several other drugs we currently use are in low supply, most importantly epinephrine. Epinephrine is a life-saving medication, not only for supply on our code carts for cardiac arrest, but available in injection form for people with severe allergies. The shortage affects everyone, from oncology patients to cardiac patients. Recent policy changes have been made in order to correct the major shortages to help keep these life-saving drugs on the market and available to the people that need them.

But do take it the time you remember unless it coincides with your next medication schedule.

M e d i c a t i o n R e c o n c i l i a t i o n : A K e y I s s u e i n M e a n i n g f u l U s e

The item is unlawful medications. The individuals who bargain these medications are Culprits. That is the thing that makes the medication business diverse then whatever other. Alcohol is a medication, yet grown-ups are permitted to utilize liquor items. Nicotine is a medication, yet grown-ups are permitted to utilize a wide range of structures of tobacco items, all which have tobacco in them. The drug Caffeine can be found in numerous ordinary things, similar to pop confection bars. Consider what number of cops we would require if caffeine items were illicit.

In the United States today, the elderly make up approximately 13% of the population but use 30% of all prescriptions written. This article focuses on the importance of understanding patients’ prescriptions and their adverse drug events (ADE), as well as the best ways to care for patients with many prescriptions. The article also discusses the best ways to avoid ADEs.

Medication Therapy Management (MTM) refers to a pharmacy management drug benefit program for patients with multiple chronic conditions, high drug costs, and high healthcare utilization. MTM was initially designed to optimize health outcomes, thereby reducing adverse drug events (Lau, Briesacher, Touchette, Stubbings, & Ng, 2011; Pindolia et al., 2009). The goal is to enhance effectiveness, safety, and medication compliance (Isetts et al., 2006). Since inception, various forms of MTM programs existed with pharmacists providing services for medically complex patients ranging from medication reconciliation, assessing medication-related problems, providing education, to developing personalized comprehensive medication lists through face-to-face, telephone, or other technological approaches (Isetts et al., 2006).

Lenander et.al, (2015) define polypharmacy as the consequences of multiple concurrent medications taken to primarily manage existing health problems such as hypertension and diabetes. Polypharmacy is a typical problem among older adults. Currently, adults within the age bracket of 65 years and above take five or more medications on a weekly basis, 57% of which are women and 44% are men. Besides, the prevalence of polypharmacy is about 12% of both women and men that take ten medications and above per week (Lenander et.al, 2015). Understanding this issue on multiple levels is essential in helping to decrease the prevalence of polypharmacy and medication errors. This problem is a leading cause of many negative outcomes associated with healthcare. Not only physical and psychological problems for the patient but also social and economical problems for the healthcare industry as a whole.

The purpose of this systematic review was to find studies focused on polypharmacy in the elderly and if there were any significant health risks compared to non-polypharmacy. Polypharmacy is when a patient is taking multiple medications (usually 4+) at the same time. This can get complicated when the drugs being taken will interact with each other. This can also cause problems when elderly patients forget to take certain medications or do not follow specific order while taking them. What this systematic review found was that polypharmacy does indeed increase health risks in the elderly population and that steps should be taken to mitigate these risks in clinical settings by reducing amounts of prescriptions.

I found it fairly easy to maintain my dosing schedule. All of the medications I am prescribed could be taken while I was home so I did not need to carry my bottles around with me. I use an app called Medsafe Pill Reminder. You enter in medications you are taking. It has an extensive list where it will pull up normal doses, route. It will even show you the expected

Medication-noncompliance problems are common among elderly patients who are discharged from the hospital and are using several drugs for their chronic diseases (Ahmad et al., 2010). Medication management is a challenge for adults of all ages, but for the elderly, physical limitations, such as vision problems, memory loss, arthropathy) can make it particularly challenging to take medicine according to a set schedule(Simonson, 1984). In Australia, the population is ageing rapidly. Since 1970, the Australian population has aged significantly increase in the proportion of adults aged 85 years and older(Hillen et al., 2015). The prevalence of multiple chronic conditions in the older population is reported to be between 65% to 80%.(Hillen

Polypharmacy by definition is the concurrent use of multiple medications. More often than not, it is supplementary with the prescription and use of too many or unnecessary medicines at dosages or frequencies higher than therapeutically essential (National Prescribing Service Newsletter, 2000). It is becoming a prevalent concern in the nation given that there is an increase in the older adults who are being treated for multiple chronic diseases. Research indicates, “44% of men and 57% of women older than age 65 take five or more medications per week; about 12% of both men and women take 10 or more medications per week” (Woodruff, 2010, para. 1). In that same research, it pointed out that most of the commonly used over the counter drugs are

You may need help with scheduling or planning how and when to take your medicines. If you have questions about your medicines, it is very important that you talk to your health care provider.

Envision a pill that has the ability to replace protein, vitamins, and calcium. Is that even possible? The answer is both yes and no because the human body cannot live on pills alone. Dietary supplements are popular worldwide among athletes, those who go to the gym, and the general public. However, what many do not believe is all the possible health risks that come from consuming these pills Yes, dietary supplements can benefit the body in a couple ways but only for a small period of time.

Since elders in America consume almost one-third of all the pharmaceuticals than any other age group they should be able to effectively and safely use drugs however, this is not always the case. With advancing age, many lose their ability to decipher and manage medication, or how to take medications. To add to the problem of not being able to manage medication, the number of prescribed medication continues to increase. Their bodies are further complicated with illnesses like dementia, and disability, and their social and financial resources continue to shrink. Information like names, dosages, and awareness for side effects also continue to decrease and are not likely to comply with medication schedules.