Polypharmacy
Polypharmacy in the Elderly
Wendy Randall
Nursing Care of Older Adults and Their Families. Nur. 400
Deena S. Gill
Dec. 6, 2012
Polypharmacy in the Elderly The average lifespan for an American today is about eighty years, roughly thirty years longer than it was a century ago. Our quality of life as we age is vastly better as well, heavily influenced by new vaccines and better drugs. [ (D ' Oratzio, 2012) ] The likelihood of having at least one chronic disease increases substantially in older adults. It is estimated that eighty percent of people over the age of sixty-five have at least one chronic disease and fifty percent have more than one. Along with the improved life expectancy polypharmacy has become an increasingly serious problem in the current healthcare system. Polypharmacy is recognized as an expensive practice: the US Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimates that polypharmacy costs the nation’s health plans more than fifty billion US dollars annually. Addressing the issue of polypharmcy is essential to healthcare providers to prevent negative clinical consequences and provide for a better quality of life for this vulnerable population. [ (Perry, 2011) ] The word polypharmacy is not well defined in the healthcare literature and the term often varies from scholar to scholar. In a research article by Bushardt, Massey, Simpson, Ariail, and Simpson (2008) titled “Polypharmacy: Misleading, but Manageable” no consensus definition was readily identified. The most commonly cited definition stating “medication did not match diagnosis.” was included in four articles. While the term “Inappropriate” was part of definitions in six articles. Several other different definitions, involved one of the following concepts: many medications, duplication of medications, drug/drug interactions, and excessive duration. Some definitions place a value on the number of concurrent medications; the most commonly referenced number was six medications or more.
Wendy Randall
Nursing Care of Older Adults and Their Families. Nur. 400
Deena S. Gill
Dec. 6, 2012
Polypharmacy in the Elderly The average lifespan for an American today is about eighty years, roughly thirty years longer than it was a century ago. Our quality of life as we age is vastly better as well, heavily influenced by new vaccines and better drugs. [ (D ' Oratzio, 2012) ] The likelihood of having at least one chronic disease increases substantially in older adults. It is estimated that eighty percent of people over the age of sixty-five have at least one chronic disease and fifty percent have more than one. Along with the improved life expectancy polypharmacy has become an increasingly serious problem in the current healthcare system. Polypharmacy is recognized as an expensive practice: the US Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimates that polypharmacy costs the nation’s health plans more than fifty billion US dollars annually. Addressing the issue of polypharmcy is essential to healthcare providers to prevent negative clinical consequences and provide for a better quality of life for this vulnerable population. [ (Perry, 2011) ] The word polypharmacy is not well defined in the healthcare literature and the term often varies from scholar to scholar. In a research article by Bushardt, Massey, Simpson, Ariail, and Simpson (2008) titled “Polypharmacy: Misleading, but Manageable” no consensus definition was readily identified. The most commonly cited definition stating “medication did not match diagnosis.” was included in four articles. While the term “Inappropriate” was part of definitions in six articles. Several other different definitions, involved one of the following concepts: many medications, duplication of medications, drug/drug interactions, and excessive duration. Some definitions place a value on the number of concurrent medications; the most commonly referenced number was six medications or more.
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