medication safety Archives - Better Health While Aging

Deprescribing: How to Be on Less Medication for Healthier Aging

Have you ever wondered whether you — or your older relative — might be taking too many medications?

You’re certainly right to ask yourself this. I consider this for all my own patients, and wish every doctor would.

In part, this is because over the years, I’ve had countless older adults express their worries and frustrations, related to their medications. These include:

The hassle of having so many pills to take
Worries about side-effects
Frustration with medication costs
Wondering whether a given medication is the “right” one for you, or for your condition
The sneaky feeling that some of those medications don’t seem to help much
The hassle of coordinating a long medication list among multiple doctors

Needless to say, all of this is not so good for quality of life while aging.

And unlike some things that people worry about, these concerns are all actually justified, given what geriatricians know about older adults and medications.

So if you’ve ever experienced the above worries — or if you (or your older relative) are taking more than five medications — then I want to make sure you know about a process that can improve or resolve all those problems that older adults have with their medications.

It’s called deprescribing, and it’s really essential to optimizing the health of an older person.

In this article, I’ll cover what every older adult and family caregiver should know about it:

What is deprescribing?
Why is deprescribing especially important for older adults?
How does deprescribing work?
What medications are most important for older adults to consider deprescribing?
How can older adults and family caregivers get doctors to address deprescribing?

This way, you’ll have a better shot at what everyone wants when it comes to medication: [Read more…]

Preventing Falls: 10 Types of Medications to Review if You’re Concerned About Falling

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH 12 Comments

Have you been concerned about falls for yourself, or for an aging parent?

If so, do you know if any of your medications might be increasing your risk for falls?

In its Stay Independent brochure, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends older adults do the following four things to prevent falls:

Begin an exercise program to improve leg strength and balance.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist to review your medicines.
Get annual eye check-ups and update your glasses.
Make your home safer.

In this article, we’ll focus on medications for three reasons:

Medications are among the most common causes of increased fall risk in older people.

Medications are usually among the easiest risk factors to change, when it comes to falls in older adults.

Medication-based risks are often missed by busy regular doctors. Older adults and family caregivers can make a big difference by being proactive in this area.

I want you to understand just what types of medications you and your doctors should be looking for, when you address medication review as part of fall prevention. This article will also explain exactly what to do, once you’ve identified any medications that are associated with falls. [Read more…]

How to Choose the Safest Over-the-Counter Painkiller for Older Adults

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH 54 Comments

Q: My 88-year old mother often complains of various aches and pains. What is the safest over-the-counter painkiller for her to take? Aren’t some of them bad for your liver and kidneys?

A: Frequent aches and pains are a common problem for older adults.

If your mother has been complaining, you’ll want to make sure she gets a careful evaluation from her doctor. After all, frequent pain can be the sign of an important underlying health problem that needs attention. You’re also more likely to help your mom reduce her pains if you can help her doctors identify the underlying causes of her pain.

That said, it’s a good idea to ask what over-the-counter analgesics are safest for older people.

That’s because improper use of OTC painkillers is actually a major cause of harm to older adults.

So let me tell you what OTC painkiller geriatricians usually consider the safest, and which very common group of painkillers you should look out for.

What’s the safest OTC painkiller for an older parent?

[Read more…]

How to Review Medications for Safety & Appropriateness

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH 3 Comments

By now you’ve probably heard that older adults are often taking “too many” medications.

You also hopefully know that older people are often prescribed medications that may be harmful, or no longer necessary.

So what can you do?

The answer is to request a careful medication review, in which all medications are reviewed for appropriateness and safety. This is part of a process called “deprescribing.’

Geriatricians are trained to do this, but if you can’t find a geriatrician, you should be able to get a decent review from the primary care doctor.

But before you go in, it pays to do a little homework on your own. That’s because the input of a patient and her caregivers is actually crucial to determining whether each medication is appropriate for her.

To help you complete this background preparation for a medication review, I’ve written this article for A Place for Mom:

“5 Steps to Prepare for a Medication Review“

The 5 Step Process You Can Use to Get a Better Medication Review

In the article, I explain that it’s a good idea to review an aging adult’s medications on your own, before going to see the doctor. This will free up some time when you’re actually seeing the doctor — which might mean more time for questions or discussion — and can help you spot safety issues that a non-geriatrician might otherwise not notice.

Specifically, I recommend you consider the following five steps: [Read more…]

5 Medication Safety Principles for Older Adults

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH 1 Comment

Have you found yourself eyeing an older person’s medication list, wondering if you should worry?

It’s smart to be concerned, especially if your older relative takes five or more medications. Medications can provide many benefits, but they also can easily cause problems.

The CDC estimates that every year 177,000 older adults visit the emergency room due to medication-related problems. But even medications that don’t prompt ER visits may be causing more harm than good, and researchers have documented that “inappropriate prescribing” is common among seniors.

For all these reasons, a big part of what we do as geriatricians is to regularly review an older person’s medications, for safety and appropriateness.

Now, to properly review medications, you do need to work with clinically trained professionals such as doctors, pharmacists, and nurses.

But I am a big believer in the idea that well-informed patients and families are key to getting the healthcare work done better.

So I’ve written a two-part article for A Place for Mom, about how you can help an older person get the most out of his or her medication review. Here’s part one:

“How to Think Like a Geriatrician About Medications for Older Adults“

In this article, I share five medication safety truths that I always keep in mind, and that you should too! They are: [Read more…]

What’s the safest OTC painkiller for an older parent?

The 5 Step Process You Can Use to Get a Better Medication Review

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