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THE FUTURE OF PHARMACY
INTERNATIONAL PHARMACY JOURNAL
Adults over the age of 50 years are in many countries the fastest growing segment of the QPQVMBUJPO&MEFSMZQFPQMFSFQSFTFOUPG the world’s population and their numbers are increasing by 8 billion every month. They have become the fastest segment of the population in many developing countries. 1 , 2 According to the World Health Statistics 2011, 83 million persons in India are 60 years PGBHFBOEPMEFS SFQSFTFOUJOHPWFSPGUIF nation’s total population 3 and is estimated that this aging population will result in 316 million elderly persons by 2050. 4 Similarly, in the United States, older adults have become the fastest growing segment of the popula - tion and are expected to double in number to 72 million by 2030. 5 Many older adults have multiple medical conditions, such as hyper - tension, arthritis, heart disease, cancer and diabetes mellitus, which require multiple medication for proper treatment . 6 , 7 The prevalence of increased number and quan - tity of medications used in this population leads to increased morbidity due to adverse drug reactions, drug interactions and patient non-compliance.
GERIATRIC CARE IMPROVING ADHERENCE THROUGH PHARMACY PRACTICE
B.Akshaya Srikanth, K.Ravinder Reddy, Sunil Kumar Jain
There are many inter-related reasons for non-compliance These va r ia b l e s fa ll int o four ma in c at e go r i e s t 1IZTJPMPHJDBMGBDUPSTTFOTPSZJNQBJSNFOU NPCJMJUZMJNJUT
p r e s e n c e of s y mpt o m s ; mem o r y lo s s ; dep r e s si o n a nd cognit i v e imp a ir m e nt . t #FIBWJPSBMGBDUPSTTPDJBMJTPMBUJPO TPDJBMBOEIFBMUICFMJFGT
e c o n o mi c con dit i o n s . t 5SFBUNFOUGBDUPSTBEWFSTFFGGFDUTPGNFEJDBUJPOT
me dic at i o n c la s s ; p er ce pt i o n of me dic at i o n; dur at i o n of tre at m e nt a nd comp l e x it y of tre at m e nt . t )FBMUIDBSFQSPWJEFSBOEQBUJFOUJOUFSBDUJPO
D e sp it e the fa c t that the s e va r ia b l e s de v e l o p sep a r at e l y, in pr a c t i c e the y ove r la p sub s t a nt i a ll y. This ev id e n c e sug ge s t s that the r e is a ne e d for pha r m a c is t s invo l v e d in ger iat r i c p at i e nt c a r e in ord e r to cur b bot h adh e r e n c e a nd comp li a n c e is su e s .
G e r i at r i c c a r e or eld e r c a r e is the fulfillm e nt of the sp e c ia l ne e ds a nd re quir e m e nt s that are uniqu e to senio r cit i ze n s . This bro a d ter m enco mp a s s e s such ser v i c e s a s a s sis t e d li v ing , adult day c a r e , long ter m c a r e , nur sing hom e s , ho sp i c e c a r e , a nd In - Home c a r e . 8
W it h the grow t h of the old e r adult p op ulat i o n , communit y - b a s e d eld e r he a lt h ser v i ce s a re b e co ming cr it i c a l comp o n e nt s of ma ny he a lt h s y s t e m s a nd are cre at ing ent r e p r e n e ur i a l opp o r t unit i e s . Phar ma c is t s a re now pro v i ding ser v i c e s to the old e r adult s in a va r iet y of communit y set t ing s , inclu ding tr a dit i o n a l pha r m a c i e s a s well a s pha r m a c i e s op e r at ing out of senio r fa cult i e s a nd clini c s , a nd in consult at i v e role s . Phar ma - c is t s pro v i d e regula r dr ug re v i e w s for nur sing hom e s re si d e nt s