Page 40 - Outstanding Women Friendly Physicians (2)

A guide for family, friends and loved ones

in preparing for the effects of the growing

elder population …a Public Service from

“Those Who Care”

Overmedication of Our Elderly

well - this serves as a good double-check
Polypharmacy is the term that is used to define the administration • Doctor Review: Gently remind the elder's physician that not
of more medications than are clinically indicated for an individual. every side effect is simply due to old age - some may be due to
overmedications or the interaction of certain medications.
"30% of all prescriptions and 50% of all over-the-counter medica- • Research the Medications: Most medication research is per-
tions are consumed by the elderly. One third of all prescription re- formed on adults under the age of 65. Seek out studies related to
lated deaths occur in the elderly and 20% of all hospital admissions the medications taken by your elder that focused on the over 65
for elderly patients are due to medication-related problems." age group.
-Resources for Seniors, February 27, 2007 • "Main Brain": Dr. Duxbury suggests using one central person as
the gate-keeper for the review of your elder's medications - less
Clearly, the over medication of our seniors is a serious problem, confusion, less conflict.
and one that demands all of us to • Natural Medications: We live in
scrutinize how our care recipients a Westernized medical culture, yet
are handled by their doctors and more and more physicians are be-
their families (with regard to their ginning to see the value of Eastern
medications). medicine - look to see what more
"natural" remedies are available.
Andrew Duxbury, M.D., a geriatric • Simplicity is Key: Keep drug
medicine specialist at UAB, notes, medications simple and routines
40 "Adverse reactions to medications easy to follow. Make written instruc-
represent the number-one health tions size appropriate and verbal
problem facing the elderly today." instruction easy to remember.

There are numerous reasons for The over medication of our elderly
the wide-spread phenomenon, is a national crisis. When I worked
including: at Villa St. Michael's in Baltimore (a
• Metabolisms change: As we 250 bed nursing home), the main
age, our bodies' metabolisms often focus of the attending physician
change; such as elders' absorption was to reduce the average number
rates slow, medications may stay of medications taken by a resident
in the body longer causing higher from eleven down to five. It took a
risks of toxicity. few years to reach that goal, but
• Overmedication: This tends to the results were noticed by staff,
lead to greater drug interaction family and, most importantly, by the
and increased side effects (i.e., residents.
dry mouth, dizziness, falls, depres-
sion, etc.). Some cultural habits are not posi-
• Noncompliance of tive - over medicating our elderly
medications: Elders not taking is one of those negative results of
their meds as prescribed, possibly the medical culture in this country.
leading to forgetfulness, confusion, With your help and diligence - the
and side effects. increased education of our clients
• Falls: 10% of all visits to the hos- and care recipients, and continu-
pital emergency room are related ing to ask the right questions of our
to falls. elder's physicians -- we can reduce
the dependence of our elders on
Solutions to overmedication are medications and become a healthier population.
out there - it is a matter of implementing those solutions.
Informational source: www.main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=60834 -
Here are some of the more recognizable solutions:
(Over) Medicating the Elderly: The Need for a "Main Brain", Stanley
Holditch, UAB Publications, University of Alabama at Birmingham,
• Brown Bag Visits: Have an annual doctor's visit to review all Alabama.
your senior's medications, including both prescription and over-the-
counter. (This can also be done with the local pharmacists as