Geriatric Polypharmacy
Course #99022 - $30 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
Polypharmacy in geriatrics is a serious problem that is expected to grow in scope as the population ages. Certain medications commonly used in the younger population may be considered inappropriate in the elderly, due to pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, and/or drug/disease interactions. Reduction in the number of medications that elders take is associated with reduction in mortality rates, improved quality of life, and reduced costs. This program will educate clinicians on how to evaluate and reduce unnecessary polypharmacy.
- INTRODUCTION
- POLYPHARMACY DEFINED
- IDENTIFICATION OF PROBLEMATIC MEDICATIONS IN THE ELDERLY
- AGE-RELATED PHYSIOLOGIC CHANGES
- POTENTIAL PROBLEMS PRESCRIBING IN GERIATRICS
- ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS
- PRESCRIBING CASCADE
- TRANSITIONS OF CARE
- MEDICATION RECONCILIATION
- PALLIATIVE APPROACH TO MEDICATION REDUCTION
- CONCLUSION
- Works Cited
- Evidence-Based Practice Recommendations Citations
This course is designed for advanced practice nurses, nurses, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and allied healthcare professionals who work with the geriatric population.
The purpose of this course is to provide clinicians with the knowledge necessary to ensure that geriatric patients are effectively treated while reducing unnecessary polypharmacy.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Define polypharmacy in the elderly patient.
- Identify guidelines to prevent the use of unnecessary medications in elderly patients.
- Describe physiologic changes of aging that cause differences in drug metabolism.
- Discuss the potential problems polypharmacy may cause in older patients.
- Evaluate the impact of polypharmacy in specific conditions as well as approaches to avoid inappropriate prescribing.
- Describe a prescribing cascade and the importance of medication assessment and reconciliation.
Susan Waterbury, MSN, FNP-BC, ACHPN, entered the medical field in 1985 as a certified medical assistant and basic x-ray operator. She achieved her RN in 1990 and practiced in a variety of settings, including hospital, home health care, and hospice. Ms. Waterbury achieved her BSN in 1996 and her MSN as a Family Nurse Practitioner in 1999. She was board-certified as an FNP-BC in 2000 and has practiced in family practice, geriatrics, corporate leadership, hospice, and palliative care settings. She holds RN and NP licenses in Florida and Arizona.
In addition to her clinical roles, Ms. Waterbury continues to play an active role in educating and mentoring nurses and healthcare professionals. She has been a faculty member of the University of Phoenix since 2015, teaching in the nurse practitioner and MSN programs. She develops and presents educational programs for a variety of healthcare organizations and community groups.
Contributing faculty, Susan Waterbury, MSN, FNP-BC, ACHPN, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Jane C. Norman, RN, MSN, CNE, PhD
Randall L. Allen, PharmD
The division planners have disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.