Polypharmacy Paper

Reducing polypharmacy can be achieved through encouraging healthcare providers to review medication regimens for their geriatric patients. This type of intervention was evaluated in a study of older adults living in long-term care facilities in North Carolina (Trygstad, Christensen, Wegner, Sullivan, & Garmise, 2009). Pharmacists at each participating facility reviewed medication lists for harmful drugs, interactions, or unnecessary medications. They also reviewed new drug orders and addressed concerns with the prescriber before dispensing the medication. Medication costs, number of prescription drugs filled, and risk for hospitalization were assessed. The comparison group comprised patients living in long-term care facilities without pharmacists reviewing medications. The study included …show more content…
Geriatric teams included physicians, nurses, social workers, and pharmacists. Care provided by these teams was compared to physician-only care, with assistance from support staff if needed. The study enrolled 834 patients at hospital admission and followed them for 12 months. Outcomes included adverse drug reactions, number of inappropriate drugs, and unnecessary medication use. Patients were randomized to receive geriatric care in one of four settings: inpatient, outpatient, neither, or both. Adverse drug reactions were more common in patients receiving inpatient geriatric care. Whether this indicates an increased incidence of drug reactions or simply improved detection remains unclear. Inpatient geriatric care, but not outpatient, was linked with decreased inappropriate and necessary medication use. Risk of serious adverse reactions was reduced by receiving outpatient geriatric care (Schmader et al., 2004). The study illustrates that inpatient and outpatient care teams have varying effects on geriatric drug