Medication Management in Older Adults

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

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2. Is There a Problem? The Evidence of Types and Causes of Medication Errors by Healthcare Workers

   • Michael Murray

   Pages 1-10

3. Quality Use of Medicines: Policy and Practice

   • Susan Hunt

   Pages 11-27

4. The Ethics of Prescribing Medications to Older People

   • David G. Le Couteur, Hal Kendig, Vasi Naganathan, Andrew J. McLachlan

   Pages 29-42

5. Common Medication Errors in the Acute Care Sector

   • Susan Koch, Helen Forbes, Pauline Wong

   Pages 43-52

6. Common Medication Errors in Long-Term Care Settings

   • Catherine Edgar, Penny Harvey

   Pages 53-67

7. The Impact of Medication on Nutritional Status of Older People

   • Yvonne Coleman

   Pages 69-77

8. Medication Management in Older Adults: What a Systematic Review Tells Us

   • Brent Hodgkinson

   Pages 79-93

9. Misuse of Formulations in the Aged Care Setting

   • Andrew J. McLachlan, Iqbal Ramzan

   Pages 95-104

10. Electronic Health Records, Medications, and Long-Term Care

    • F. Michael Gloth

    Pages 105-109

11. Computerized Order Entry

    • F. Michael Gloth

    Pages 111-117

12. Inappropriate Prescribing: Beers Criteria, Polypharmacy, and Drug Burden

    • F. Michael Gloth

    Pages 119-125

13. Dosing Errors: Age-Related Changes in Pharmacokinetics

    • Andrew J. McLachlan, Sarah N. Hilmer, David G. Le Couteur

    Pages 127-135

14. Back Matter

    Pages 137-140

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Medication use is the predominant form of health intervention in our society. And as we age, the likelihood of medication use increases dramatically, with more than 80 percent of those over age 65 using one or more medications. Along with that, the potential for medication errors also increases. Indeed adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and adverse drug events (ADEs) are a significant problem in older adults. Written in a practical format by contributors from Australia and the United States, Medication Management in Older Adults: A Concise Guide for Clinicians presents the available evidence on research interventions designed to reduce the incidence of medication errors in older adults, with a focus on acute, subacute, and residential (long-term) care settings. Because medication errors can occur at all stages in the medication process, from prescription by physicians to delivery of medication to the patient by nurses, and in any site in the health system, it is essential that interventions be targeted at all aspects of medication delivery. Chapters cover the principles of medical ethics in relation to medication management; common medication errors in the acute care sector; medication management in long-term care settings; nutrition and medications; the outcomes of a systematic review; dose form alterations; Electronic Health Records (EHR), Computerized Order Entry (COE), Beers criteria; and pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. For those clinicians especially concerned with providing the best possible outcomes for their older adult patients, Medication Management in Older Adults: A Concise Guide for Clinicians is an invaluable resource and a significant contribution to the burgeoning literature on medication errors.

• age
• drug
• ethics
• kinetics
• nutrition
• pharmacodynamics
• pharmacokinetics
• pharmacy
• research

From the reviews:

“This is a multiauthored guide, mostly by Australian authors, to medications for older adults. … The audience here is broad - - pharmacists nurses, prescribers, and policy makers. The authors bring a wide range of knowledge to bear on the subject. … There are a number of tables describing errors in giving medications to older persons and what to do about them. There is a useful diagram of adverse drug actions in older persons. This book discusses these things philosophically … .” (David O. Staats, Doody’s Review Service, January, 2011)

• , Division of Nursing and Midwifery, Latrobe University, Bundoora, Australia

  Susan Koch

• School of Medicine, Victory Springs Senior Health Associates, Johns Hopkins University, Reisterstown, USA

  F. Michael Gloth

• , Institute of Social Participation, Latrobe University, Bundoora, Australia

  Rhonda Nay

Policies and ethics