Polypharmacy Among the Elderly :: Health Care

Polypharmacy among the senior is a growing concern in U.S. health circumspection system. hoary who have comorbities and take multiple medicines are at a higher risk for potential unseemly drug reactions. Elderly who take over-the-counter medications, herbs, and supplements without consulting their physician are at risk for obstinate reactions associated with polypharmacy. Polypharmacy can result from affected roles having multiple prescribers and pharmacies, and patient roles who continue to take medications which have been cease by the physician. There is a great need for nursing interventions regarding polypharmacy, including medication checks also known as brown bag. As nurses baffle history data and conduct a patient assessment, it is essential to review the patients medications and ask open-ended questions regarding all types of medications in which the patient is taking. In addition, the patient assessment is also an opportunity for the nurse to inquire about wha tever adverse reactions the patient may be experiencing resulting from medications. Nurses are in a unique position to provide early detection and intervention for potentially inappropriate medications and its associated adverse drug reactions. Project PurposePICO Question Among the elderly patients receiving care at Cary Medical Center on Med/Surg, who are soon taking multiple medications due to comorbidities, would reviewing medications at each provider escort reduce polypharmacy and its associated adverse reactions?Currently, through observations and clinical experience on Med/Surg at Cary Medical Center, medication is administered by the nurse. Nurses are responsible and accountable for administrating medications to patients. patient role medication education is conducted by the nurse. Medication education includes informing the patient the reason for the medication, when and how long to take the medication, drug interactions, and importance of checking with primary car e provider prior to taking any over-the-counter or herbal products. If the nurse is unfamiliar with a certain medication, a drug guard is available for the nurse to utilize and gain knowledge regarding the drug use, action, adverse reaction, and contraindications. Method used to conduct ROLA search for current friction match reviewed inquiry studies was conducted using CINAHL, Medline, and PubMed. The research articles were generated by utilizing the search entry with the call of polypharmacy, polypharmacy among the elderly, adverse drug reactions and polypharmacy, and consequences and polypharmacy. After receiving a few research articles, a new search was conducted replacing the term of polypharmacy with multiple medications. These searches yielded limited research articles pertaining to the topic of polypharmacy.