As individuals age, it is likely that they will require some form of medication to treat the development of health conditions. Health conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes and high cholesterol, are more likely to occur. Most of these conditions require the administration of pharmacology. Geriatric patients are therefore more likely to be on medications, and often on multiple medications at once, a condition called polypharmacy. Age-related changes in the human body makes it more susceptible to the medications. As a result the geriatric population should be carefully managed. Elderly patients are more likely to be on multiple medications on a daily basis. Polypharmacy refers to the use of four or more medications;
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Sadly, many of them do not take their medications because they cannot afford their prescriptions. Healthcare providers should ask about the financial issues of paying for healthcare costs. In addition, many elderly individuals suffer from dementia; if they live alone, they may not take their medications properly. This results in missed doses. It may also result in toxicity if the person takes an additional dose because he or she forgot the medication was already taken. Due to these multiple issues, medicating geriatric populations needs careful consideration and close …show more content…
The body detoxifies and clears medications predominantly through two means: the liver and the kidneys. The liver serves to detoxify the medications. First-pass clearance, in which the blood is sent to the kidneys and large amount of xenobiotics are removed in the liver, decreases significantly. First pass clearance significantly drops in elderly patients for specific medications. These medications include some of the most commonly prescribed ones, including Coumadin, benzodiazepines, and opiates (Bland, n.d.). Furthermore, the blood flow to the liver drops by approximately forty percent in individuals over the age of seventy. Elderly people are also more likely to have problems clearing the metabolites; over half of them suffer from some form of chronic kidney disease. The way the body moves drugs, including excreting them, is called pharmacokinetics (Bland,
Sadly, many of them do not take their medications because they cannot afford their prescriptions. Healthcare providers should ask about the financial issues of paying for healthcare costs. In addition, many elderly individuals suffer from dementia; if they live alone, they may not take their medications properly. This results in missed doses. It may also result in toxicity if the person takes an additional dose because he or she forgot the medication was already taken. Due to these multiple issues, medicating geriatric populations needs careful consideration and close …show more content…
The body detoxifies and clears medications predominantly through two means: the liver and the kidneys. The liver serves to detoxify the medications. First-pass clearance, in which the blood is sent to the kidneys and large amount of xenobiotics are removed in the liver, decreases significantly. First pass clearance significantly drops in elderly patients for specific medications. These medications include some of the most commonly prescribed ones, including Coumadin, benzodiazepines, and opiates (Bland, n.d.). Furthermore, the blood flow to the liver drops by approximately forty percent in individuals over the age of seventy. Elderly people are also more likely to have problems clearing the metabolites; over half of them suffer from some form of chronic kidney disease. The way the body moves drugs, including excreting them, is called pharmacokinetics (Bland,