Understanding Medication Management in Geriatric Care
- By Dr. Stefanenko Irina Borisovna
- 31 May 2023
- Verified by Dr. Kulyk Alexander Petrovich
Key highlights or summary
- Older adults tend to have more than one chronic condition, causing them to take multiple medications each day. This makes medication management and review a critical aspect of geriatric care.
- Ageing affects the way the body processes medications. For this reason, older adults are prone to drug-related issues like adverse reactions, side effects and drug-drug interactions.
- To avoid untoward events in older adults due to medications, they must periodically evaluate their medication prescriptions and review if they are taking the right drugs as recommended by their doctor.
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Frequently asked questions
Get the information you need.
Proper medication management is crucial to ensure the effectiveness of treatments, prevent adverse drug interactions, and avoid medication errors in elderly patients.
Challenges include polypharmacy (taking multiple medications), difficulty remembering doses, vision or hearing impairments, and understanding complex medication regimens.
Caregivers can help by organizing medications, setting reminders, accompanying seniors to medical appointments, and ensuring prescriptions are filled and taken correctly.
Tools include pill organizers, medication reminder apps, automatic pill dispensers, and keeping an updated medication list.
Medication reviews should be conducted regularly, ideally at each healthcare visit or at least annually, to ensure all medications are still necessary and being taken correctly.
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