Medication is a two-edged sword. The same dose of a medication given to two different people may cure one and harm the other.
Medication, the silent epidemic can appear in a variety of ways – the right medication in the wrong dose, or two or more medications that interact with dangerous, unintended side effects. Medication-related problems occur most often in older people and are generally more severe.
Medication-related problems are a serious public health concern affecting people of all ages, costing the United States billions of dollars and thousands of lives. The human toll of medication-related problems is staggering. In a single year, approximately 2,216,000 hospitalized patients had serious adverse drug reactions and 106,000 died as a consequence of their medication according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Even when the outcome is not death, medication-related problems decrease quality of life by affecting the mind’s and body’s ability to function normally. The economic costs attributable to medication-related problems, in nursing homes, hospitals, and the community, are enormous as well, totaling nearly $85 billion annually. This economic cost rivals that of cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and other major diseases and conditions commonly affecting the elderly population.
The consequences of medication-related problems are a potential health problem that is particularly acute for the elderly population. One study estimated the percentage of hospitalizations of older patients due to adverse medication reactions to be 17%, almost six times greater than for the general population. Adverse medication effects in older persons – such as drowsiness, loss of coordination, and confusion – can result in serious injury due to falls or automobile accidents, or less catastrophic yet equally debilitating outcomes, such as loss of functional ability and memory impairment.
Older people are especially at risk for several reasons. First, the physiological changes of aging increase the risk for medication problems in the elderly population. Experts agree that medication effects in older people are often different than in younger people, because age-related changes in the human body cause differences in the way that the body responds to medications. Older patients often lack the ability to eliminate medications from their systems as efficiently as younger patients do because of decreased liver and kidney function. They are also more sensitive to the effects of medications and are, thus, not able to tolerate usual adult dosages.
As a group, older people are more likely to suffer from multiple chronic diseases, requiring several different medications at one time. The average older person uses 4.5 prescription medications concurrently and an additional two over the counter medications. As the number of prescriptions and non-prescription medications increases, so does the potential for problems caused by drug interactions or drug-disease contraindications.
So what can be done to help prevent medication related problems in our elderly?
Pharmacogenetic testing has come to the forefront in the Long Term Care industry as a tool to help prevent unnecessary medications – or drug on drug interactions. This test can even help healthcare professionals with proper prescribing when it comes to dosage.
Why now?
Pharmacogenetics has been around for decades, but not until recently has it become affordable. The test is covered by Medicare B and in some states, Medicaid covers the test as well.
As the number of prescriptions and non-prescription medications increases, so does the potential for problems caused by drug interactions or drug-disease contraindications.
The increasing use of over-the-counter (OTC) medications by older people constitutes an added risk for medication-related problems. Cost savings to a resident or senior facility is also factored in. By making sure an individual is on the right medication at the right dose, a facility can cut costs and improve the quality of life of their residents, and staff.
This simple once-in-a=lifetime swab of the cheek is available across the country.
For educational material or more information on how to implement pharmacogenetics, contact:
PGx Medical
Individualized Care – Personalized Medicine
info@pgxmed.com
405-509-5112
Read entire article at: ascp.com