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Senior Care Pharmacy - A New Specialty!!
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A new specialty has arrived, pharmacists with a Board Certification in Geriatric Pharmacy. These are pharmacists with a specialized knowledge in geriatrics, geriatric pharmacotherapy, and the unique medicaiton-related needs of the senior population, which they apply in the provision of pharmaceutical care. Senior Care Pharmacists look at the patients holistically, as individuals for whom quality of life and quality of care are mutually significant and necessary.
Medication Management Services are the cognitive activities that are provided by the pharmacist to identify, resolve, and prevent medication-related problems such as duplicative therapy, adverse drug events, improper dosage, untreated indications and adherence to medication regimen.
We have developed a questionaire to help identify persons at risk. The tool helps by asking the following: (these should be bulleted)
- the number of medications taken on a daily basis
- number of doses per day
- number of changes to the regimen during the past 12 months
- multiple physicians prescribing medications
- difficulty following medication directions
The Senior Care Pharmacist is trained to evaluate not only the medications, but the day-to-day functions of a patient which include a review of all systems from head to toe, that can be associated with drug side effects. We are advocates of less medications, rather than more. We will approach physicians to change drugs and alter therapy when needed, for the benefit of the patient or when the risk clearly outweighs the benefit of a medication.
Echo Pharmacy Pharmacist, Bryan McCutcheon, R.Ph. is a Certified Geriatric Pharmacist (CGP) and a Senior Care Pharmacist.
You can also contact AARP to find a senior care pharmacist in your area.
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