This review will provide an exhaustive view of medication management models that could be effective for polymedicated , home-dwelling older adults and will allow us to analyze their impact on managing and preventing MRPs .
BACKGROUND Older adults with multiple chronic diseases commonly require complex medication regimes .
When combined with frailty , cognitive impairment , and changing pharmacological prescriptions , older adults ' polymedication regimes increase the risk of medication-related problems ( MRPs ) and hospitalization .
Effective , well-organized medication management could avoid MRPs and their clinical outcomes .
OBJECTIVE Identify medication management models and analyze their impact on managing and preventing MRPs for polymedicated , home-dwelling older adults .
Drug - related emergency department visits by elderly patients presenting with non-specific complaints
Background Since drug-related emergency department ( ED ) visits are common among older adults , the objectives of our study were to identify the frequency of drug-related problems ( DRPs ) among patients presenting to the ED with non-specific complaints ( NSC ) , such as generalized weakness and to evaluate responsible drug classes . Methods Delayed type cross-sectional diagnostic study with a prospect i ve 30 day follow-up in the ED of the University Hospital Basel , Switzerl and . From May 2007 until April 2009 , all non-trauma patients presenting to the ED with an Emergency Severity Index ( ESI ) of 2 or 3 were screened and included , if they presented with non-specific complaints . After having obtained complete 30-day follow-up , two outcome assessors review ed all available information , judged whether the initial presentation was a DRP and compared their judgment with the initial ED diagnosis . Acute morbidity ( “ serious condition ” ) was allocated to individual cases according to predefined criteria . Results The study population consisted of 633 patients with NSC . Median age was 81 years ( IQR 72/87 ) , and the mean Charlson comorbidity index was 2.5 ( IQR 1/4 ) .  DRPs were identified in 77 of the 633 cases ( 12.2 % ) . At the initial assessment , only 40 % of the DRPs were correctly identified . 64 of the 77 identified DRPs ( 83 % ) fulfilled the criteria “ serious condition ” . Polypharmacy and certain drug classes ( thiazides , antidepressants , benzodiazepines , anticonvulsants ) were associated with DRPs . Conclusion Elderly patients with non-specific complaints need to be screened systematic ally for drug-related problems . Trial Registration Clinical Trials.gov :
This review will provide an exhaustive view of medication management models that could be effective for polymedicated , home-dwelling older adults and will allow us to analyze their impact on managing and preventing MRPs .
BACKGROUND Older adults with multiple chronic diseases commonly require complex medication regimes .
When combined with frailty , cognitive impairment , and changing pharmacological prescriptions , older adults ' polymedication regimes increase the risk of medication-related problems ( MRPs ) and hospitalization .
Effective , well-organized medication management could avoid MRPs and their clinical outcomes .
OBJECTIVE Identify medication management models and analyze their impact on managing and preventing MRPs for polymedicated , home-dwelling older adults .