WHAT ARE THE SIGNS THAT WE SHOULD RELOOK A SENIOR\u2019S MEDICATIONS?<\/p>\n
\u201cSome red flags include recurrent falls, excessive drowsiness, new confusion or\u00a0worsening memory, constipation, low blood sugar levels or frequent hospital admissions,\u201d said Thurga.\u00a0\u201cFamilies sometimes attribute these symptoms to \u2018old age\u2019 when medications may be contributing factors.\u201d<\/p>\n
Huang added that a change in blood pressure and\/or heart rate may also be an indication. \u201cOne challenge is that (new) medication side effects can sometimes be mistaken for a new illness,\u201d he said. The caregiver may assume cognitive decline to be the cause but the underlying problem could partly be medication related.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is why we should pay attention to when a symptom started and whether it coincided with a new medicine, a change in dosage, or the addition of another medication,\u201d said Huang. However, it would be prudent to have the situation assessed by the doctor or pharmacist \u2013 and not stop the medication, he emphasised.\u00a0<\/p>\n
HOW OFTEN SHOULD WE REASSESS A SENIOR\u2019S MEDICATIONS?<\/p>\n
\u201cA full medication review should take place at least once a year for patients on multiple long-term medications, and more frequently after a hospitalisation or significant change in condition,” said Assoc Prof Chew. “Discharge from hospital is a particularly critical moment as new medications are sometimes added during a stay without older ones being reviewed or removed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Tay said that \u201cthere is no single review interval that suits everyone\u201d. In diabetic patients, \u201cwe found that patients who received two reviews achieved better diabetes control compared with those who received just one review over six months\u201d, she said, citing a study by NHG Pharmacy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile these findings are preliminary, they suggest that medication reviews need not be a once-off exercise,\u201d said Dr Tay. \u201cFor patients with complex medication regimens, two or more medication reviews a year may be a reasonable approach, particularly where there are ongoing issues with diabetes control or medication changes.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WHAT ARE THE SIGNS THAT WE SHOULD RELOOK A SENIOR\u2019S MEDICATIONS? \u201cSome red flags include recurrent falls, excessive…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":845928,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[24085,97,243,1120],"class_list":["post-845927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-caregiving","tag-health","tag-medication","tag-seniors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=845927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845927\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/845928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}