Preventing the prescribing cascade: Lessons from hospice and palliative care
08/06/24 at 03:00 AM
Preventing the prescribing cascade: Lessons from hospice and palliative care
McKnight's Home Care; by Caren McHenry Martin; 7/24/24
More than 2 in 5 seniors experience polypharmacy, meaning they are prescribed five or more drugs. Polypharmacy is a persistent issue in elder care, particularly for patients with chronic or advanced disease. The medication burden increases as patients near the end of life, with an average of more than 10 drugs per patient. As a pharmacist serving the hospice community, I often find myself asking a simple question: Is this medication treating a symptom or a side effect?