Elderly Patients are at Increased Risk for Adverse Drug Events
- 30% of hospital admissions in patients 65 and up are linked to drug-related problems.1
- 66% of long term care residents experience an adverse drug event (ADE).
- ADEs are linked to depression, falls, constipation, immobility, and confusion.
- Elderly patients are at increased risk for ADEs due to multiple co-morbidities, complex chronic conditions, and polypharmacy.
You Can Improve Safety in Prescribing for Oklahoma’s Elderly
Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality initiated SPOkE to improve safety in prescribing for elderly patients as part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Quality Improvement Program. The goal of the SPOkE initiative is to increase compliance with the Beers Criteria, a guide for medication safety in the elderly.
Drugs such as propoxyphene and cyclobenzaprine pose a risk for adverse events in elderly patients. Drugs that have limited therapeutic efficacy and/or potentially serious side effects can affect patients’ ability to care for themselves and decrease their quality of life.
Through SPOkE, OFMQ’s quality specialists will work with physicians, pharmacists and other health care providers to increase awareness and understanding of risk factors and safe prescribing principles for elderly patients as well improving patient education and coordination between care providers.
If you are a physician, pharmacist, nurse or an interested facility, please contact Phillip W. Smith at 405.840.2891 or click here for more information about being a part of this groundbreaking project.
Sources: 1. Fick, D., Cooper, J., et al. Updating the Beers Criteria for Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Patients. Arch Intern Med. 2003;163:2716-2724.
Related Resources
Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy - July/August 2007 Report - State by state details of how America’s Quality Improvement Organizations are working in partnership with Medicare Part D prescription drug plans (PDPs) and Medicare Advantage plans (MA-PDs) to improve the quality of prescription drug therapy for Medicare beneficiaries.
Access information, tools and resources on this topic on MedQIC, the national Qualiy Improvement website.
Contact us for more information.