In our practice, we see many patients who have comorbidities that require polypharmacy. It is often difficult to get our patients to bring in an accurate list of their medications or the bottles for review, which is so important in their care. Do you have any suggestions? — Dot Posgai, ARNP-BC,, CNN, Clearwater, Fla.
There are certain situations in which polypharmacy may be necessary, given the presence of more than one medical condition in a patient. In this circumstance, there is the potential for drugs to be administered incorrectly or inappropriately, so having an updated medication list is important to avoid this outcome.
An effective approach that can be taken is to work on educating and changing the behavior of your patients so that it becomes second nature to them as far as understanding that having an accurate medication list can have a positive impact on their overall health.
Continue Reading
With all of the medications accounted for, a clinician is able to provide a comprehensive assessment and counseling that are tailored to the patient’s medication regimen. — Abimbola Farinde, PhD, PharmD, is a professor at Columbia Southern University in Orange Beach, Ala. (198-1)
These are letters from practitioners around the country who want to share their clinical problems and successes, observations and pearls with their colleagues. We invite you to participate. If you have a clinical pearl, submit it here.
