Meds diet ‘excessive’
Elderly take ‘one pill too many’
MOST older Australians consuming multiple medications are taking at least one that is unnecessary, a Deakin University expert says.
More than one-third of Australians aged 70 and over consume five or more medications regularly.
While multiple medication use can be appropriate for some, it can result in potential harms including falls and functional decline.
Deakin’s Institute for Health Transformation (IHT) Alfred Deakin postdoctoral research fellow Alemayehu Mekonnen said a high proportion of medication-related harm was “potentially preventable”.
“Our recent study found (about) two-thirds of older Australians were taking at least one medication that was unnecessary, or deemed to have unclear indication, when
they were discharged from the general medicine wards of a tertiary care health service,” Dr Mekonnen said.
“In Australia, each year 2-4 per cent of all hospital admissions are attributed to medication-related harm, and that costs the Australian healthcare system $1.4b annually.”
Deakin School of Nursing and Midwifery associate head of school (research) Elizabeth Manias said breakdowns in communication also contributed to medication-related harm.
“There are missed opportunities throughout a patient’s care; a lack of teamwork, gaps in interprofessional communication, and poor co-ordination of care, especially when patients move from one healthcare setting into another, all contribute to medication-related harm,” she said.
“Patients and their families should also be actively involved when it comes to prescribing medication.
“Being involved in the decision-making process is an important strategy to empower patients in their self-care.”
She said transition of care programs could aid communication as patients move across settings, such as moving from acute hospital care to rehabilitation settings.
Dr Mekonnen said building suitable tools to support medication review and reconciliation practices could provide effective interventions, to ensure medications being prescribed were appropriate.