Failure to thrive in the elderly is a common syndrome I have encountered in my work as a clinical pharmacist working with geriatric patients. The National Institute of Aging describes failure to thrive (FTT) as a “syndrome of weight loss, decreased appetite and...
Working in assisted livings and long term care facilities for a large chunk of my career, its safe to say I’ve reviewed a few patients medications who are on hospice. I have three major pet peeves in hospice care that I feel like I encounter on a regular basis....
I’ve been doing quite a bit of long term care consulting lately and I’ve been trying to pay attention to which medications and medication classes I have been targeting in an effort to reduce polypharmacy. Here are my top 5 targets to reduce medications in...
Working in long-term care, I’ve had the opportunity to audit medication carts and storage areas on a daily basis. In addition, surveyors will often cite deficiencies when they find expired medications. The most commonly cited medications that I’ve seen in...
Geriatrics can get very complicated very fast. Chronic conditions, polypharmacy, and drug interactions are a few of the many complications. Here are a few things that make me think twice in geriatric patients. Multiple Medication Changes As I reveiw a patient’s...
There are some scary things happening across the country with regards to COVID-19 infections. One of the biggest risks is to our geriatric population. I’ve heard reports all over the place on this topic and concerns are likely heavily dependent upon the region...
