Requirements
- Identify and discuss 2-3 definitions of polypharmacy (there are multiple definitions). Your textbook can count as 1 reference. You must also include an additional reference from an evidence-based practice journal article or national guideline.
- Identify three risk factors that can lead to polypharmacy. Explain the rationale for why each listed item is a risk factor. Risk factors are different than adverse drug reactions. ADRs can be a result of polypharmacy, and is important, but ADRs are not a risk factor.
- Explore three action steps that a provider can take to prevent polypharmacy.
- Provide an example of how your clinical preceptors have addressed polypharmacy.
SOLUTION
- Identify and discuss 2-3 definitions of polypharmacy (there are multiple definitions). Your textbook can count as 1 reference. You must also include an additional reference from an evidence-based practice journal article or national guideline.
According to the wording of Kennedy-Malone et Al. (2019), polypharmacy itself can have multiple definitions related to the prescribing of generally countless drugs, prescribing equal to or more than five drugs to a patient, or potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs), amongst other variables that can contribute to polypharmacy in the patient population. Individuals of the older adult population are the main consumers of medications; one-third of older adults take more than 5 prescribed medications, and approximately 20 percent take more than 10 prescribed medications (Kennedy-Malone et al., 2019). As previously mentioned, polypharmacy is common in the older adult population because of the high occurrence of chronic illnesses, such as hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, heart failure, and renal diseases that frequently necessitate multiple medications for effective management. As advanced practice nurses we must full assess and evaluate our patients, especially those of older age.
Patients of older age tend to do what the provider says and take what the provider prescribes, which can be effective if the provider it is treating appropriately. This in turn can lead to this patient population being under prescribed, overprescribed, and mis prescribed (Kennedy-Malone, Plank, & Duffy, 2019). An article published in regard to polypharmacy in the elderly population states that polypharmacy is a growing issue in the United States, and that the use of multiple medications increases the likelihood that a patient will experience a potential drug interaction and or an adverse drug reaction …..please click the purchase button below to access the entire solution at $10