\nA recent presentation at the Winkler Senior Centre is encouraging older adults to take a closer look at the medications they use and to talk with healthcare providers about whether those prescriptions are still necessary.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The session, titled Deprescribing Your Meds and You, focused on the concept of deprescribing, a planned process of reducing or stopping medications that may no longer be helpful or could potentially cause harm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cathleen Bergen, Services for Seniors Resource Coordinator at the Winkler Senior Centre, said the topic is particularly relevant for the community.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a high population of older adults, and we do see older adults that are on a lot of medications,\u201d said Bergen. \u201cSometimes we hear, \u2018I wish I wasn\u2019t on so many,\u2019 or \u2018This might be causing problems for me, I\u2019m not sure.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Understanding the risks of multiple medications\u00a0<\/p>\n
The presentation was delivered by Don Fletcher, a retired health administrator who works with the Manitoba Association of Senior Communities. The session was organized in partnership with the Canadian Medication Appropriateness and Deprescribing Network.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fletcher explained that while medications are essential for managing many health conditions, taking multiple prescriptions at the same time can increase the risk of complications.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Statistics shared during the presentation show that about two-thirds of adults over the age of 65 take five or more prescription medications. Around 27 per cent take 10 or more prescriptions, with that number rising to roughly 38 per cent among adults over the age of 85.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe number of people who are actually taking five or more medications, and the number taking 10 or more, are pretty daunting numbers,\u201d Bergen said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She added that taking multiple medications can increase the risk of falls, confusion, and other health complications.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more medications you take, the higher fall risks you have, the higher complications you have with medications.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Related stories:<\/p>\n
Talking to doctors and pharmacists\u00a0<\/p>\n
A key message of the session was that people should never stop medications on their own, but should speak with a healthcare professional about reviewing them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bergen said pharmacists, doctors, and nurse practitioners can all help review medications and explain why they are being prescribed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a bad idea to have a review of your medication every year or every couple of years, or when you\u2019re getting something new,\u201d she said. \u201cAsk why you\u2019re taking it, how long you should be taking it, and what symptoms you should be looking for.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The presentation also encouraged seniors to ask questions about the benefits and possible harms of medications, and whether lower doses or alternative treatments may be available.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Access to care is improving locally\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bergen noted that conversations about medications are becoming easier to have locally as access to healthcare providers improves.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had such a shortage of doctors, and now we\u2019re on the opposite end of that,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have plenty of doctors and our urgent care often has openings as well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She added that this is a good time for people who may have delayed addressing health concerns to reconnect with healthcare providers and review their medications.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bringing health education to the community\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Winkler Senior Centre regularly hosts educational sessions to help older adults stay informed about health, safety, and wellness topics.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bergen said the goal is to give seniors the knowledge and confidence to take an active role in their health.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cServices for Seniors are always here,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you have any questions about this program or any other health-related questions, we love bringing different webinars and speakers in to talk about these things.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A recent presentation at the Winkler Senior Centre is encouraging older adults to take a closer look…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":544911,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49,48,84,392],"class_list":["post-544910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=544910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/544911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}