Pharmacist intervention in an elderly care facility

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Abstract
The effectiveness of a pharmacist-initiated drug regimen review (DRR) in reducing the incidence of drug-related problems (DRPs), such as drug interactions, additive adverse effects and duplicate therapy, in the elderly was investigated. The medication profiles of 85 patients aged over 65 years, in an elderly care facility in South Africa, were evaluated for potential DRPs. It was found that 77 per cent of the patients were receiving one or more drugs at a dose exceeding the recommended geriatric dose. Some 68 per cent were receiving six or more drugs. Potential drug interactions and duplicate therapy were identified in 64 per cent and 34 per cent, respectively. A total of 85 pharmacist-initiated recommendations was presented to seven medical practitioners over a period of 16 weeks. Of these, 66 (77.7 per cent) met with the approval of the prescribers. Statistical interpretation of results showed that the incidence of all DRPs declined significantly post-recommendation. The cost benefit of the study was clearly illustrated by a 41 per cent reduction in the incidence of polypharmacy (P<0.01).