Here's a statistic for you: according to the Institute of Medicine, medication errors kill over 100,000 people a year.
Even worse news? The majority of these deaths are preventable! People over the age of 65 consume 40% of all prescription medicines in the U.
S.
We've all heard by now of the "graying of America", and the increase in the sheer number of seniors as the baby boom generation ages.
That's a lot of people depending on prescription medicines to stay healthy.
Advancing age, physical and mental frailty and increased use of prescription meds are all potent ingredients for a simmering stew of drug-related problems.
The average senior takes between four and five prescription meds, and fills about thirteen prescriptions a year.
And realize it takes only one medication to cause a problem! The best prescription for avoiding these problems? Most seniors are taking too much prescription medicine.
On average, a geriatric pharmacist could probably knock at least 10% off their regimen.
(For a person taking 20 pills a day, that's 730 less pills annually!) Most seniors have two or more medical specialists they see who are, unfortunately, not always aware of each other.
Unaware of what meds the others are prescribing, the uninformed doctor could interpret an adverse drug reaction as a new medical condition, and prescribe yet another drug! Things can get complicated in a hurry...
With these sorts of scenarios floating in my head, I realized how desperately we need geriatric pharmacists to sort through the chaos! As much as they would like to, dispensing pharmacists who work in busy pharmacies often don't have the time to answer questions.
Most geriatric pharmacists (also called consulting pharmacists) don't work in a retail setting.
In their consulting practice, they have the time to better address the needs and questions of their patients.
A geriatric pharmacist will perform a health and safety assessment in his client's home.
Routine tests such as taking blood pressure and blood-glucose monitoring can be done.
Geriatric pharmacists can offer counseling on elderly nutrition, exercise, sleep issues, and give the home a safety check.
The deadly statistic of falls and fall-related injuries among seniors has become a serious national health crisis.
Over one third of adults aged 65 and over fall each year.
In fact, 60% of all injury deaths among seniors were due to falls in 2006.
This seems to be a particular problems in our state, as the death rate for falls in Missouri is 2005 was more then thirty percent higher than the national rate! If you or a senior you know has medication, health or safety issues, we recommend you consult a geriatric pharmacist.
Because yes, what you don't know about your medications can hurt you!