48 INTERNATIONAL PHARMACY JOURNAL
Supervision K n o w l e dge a n d a dh e r e n c e g a in e d f r o m e du c a t i o n int e r- v e nt i o n s a r e of t e n not sus t a in e d . Sup e r v i s i o n a n d ongo in g e du c a t i o n ha v e a p o sit i v e ef fe c t on me di c a t i o n a dh e r e n c e . 19 Phar m a c i s t s sh o ul d re v i e w me di c a t i o n lis t s fo r accur a c y a n d b e fo ll o w e d by t h e phy si c i a n ’s e v a lu a t i o n of wh e t h e r or not t h e me di c a t i o n s t ill mat c h e s t h e go a l of t h e r a p y.
An imp e r a t i v e p a r t of sup e r v i s i o n is ma int a inin g t h e simp l e s t me di c a t i o n re g im e n p o s sib l e . The cr it e r i a s et fo r t h by ‘Hamdy R and Moore S W et a l .’ fo r re v i e w in g me di c a t i o n lis t is a n ef fe c t i v e met h o d fo r det e r m inin g t h e co nt in uin g a p p r o p r i a t e - n e s s of me di c a t i o n . Q u e s t i o nin g p at i e nt s acc o r din g l y a n d not in g if a ns w e r s to a ny of t h e qu e s t i o n s we r e ye s re sult s in co n si d e r in g a dju s t m e nt s or dis c o nt in u a n c e of pr e s c r ipt i o n s . (Tabl e 1 ) 2 0 Caref ul co n si d e r a t i o n of a ns w e r s to in quir i e s a b o ut s y mpt o m s in t h e s t a n d a r d re v i e w of s y s t e m s may a ls o he lpf ul fo r id e nt if y in g si d e ef fe c t s of me di c a t i o n s t h at may b e at t h e ro ot of t h e no n a dh e r e n c e . 2 1
Conclusion W i t h t h e wi d e s p r e a d a n d gl o b a l in c r e a s e of t h e ol d e r p o p ul a - t i o n t h e r e is a ne e d fo r ph a r m a c i s t s ’ inv o l v e m e nt in b et t e r un d e r s t a n din g t h e ne e d s of el d e r p o p ul a t i o n . Phar m a c i s t s fo cu s in g on el d e r c a r e c a n re sult in t r e m e n d o u s v a lu e in imp r o v in g a dh e r e n c e . Phar m a c i s t s c a n pr o v i d e a v a r i e t y of imp o r t a nt s e r v i c e s – r a ng in g f r o m simp l e to co mp l e x – t h at ma ke t a k in g pr e s c r ipt i o n me di c a t i o n e a si e r fo r el d e r l y p at i e nt s whi c h in tur n c a n b e he lpf ul in imp r o v in g me di c a t i o n t h e r a p y a n d qua li t y of life . Encour a g in g s t u d e nt s ’ p at i e nt c a r e a n d int e r a c t i o n s pla y a vit a l ro l e in br o a dl y imp a c t in g el d e r l y p at i e nt s ’ out c o m e s . Phar m a c i s t s c a n a n d sh o ul d t a ke a n ac t i v e ro l e in ge r i a t r i c c a r e to ensur e b et t e r ma n a ge m e nt of me di c a t i o n us e a n d in tur n imp r o v in g a dh e r e n c e a m o n g s t t h e el d e r l y.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Dr H.G. Shivakumar Principal, JSS College of Pharmacy, S.S Nagar, Mysore-570015, Karnataka G.Rohith, K.Goutham JSS College of Pharmacy, S . S Naga r, Mysor e - 5 7 0 0 15 , K a r n a t a k a
AUTHORS’ INFORMATION
B.Akshaya Srikanth, Pharm.D Internee, Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Practice, P.R.R.M.College of Pharmacy, Kadapa, A.P, India K.Ravinder Reddy, Principal, Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Practice, P.R.R.M.College of Pharmacy, Kadapa, A.P, India Sunil Kumar Jain, Chief Pharmacist, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India
TABLE 1. CRITERIA FOR CONTINUE APPROPRIATENESS OF MEDICATION
Is t h e di a g n o s i s s t i l l p r e s e nt ?
Are t h e r e dup l i c a t i o n s ?
Is t hi s t h e sim p l e s t p l a n?
Are a d v e r s e dr u g r e a c t i o n s p r e s e nt ?
Ha s t h e d o s a g e b e e n a dj u s t e d fo r a ge a n d r e n a l s t a t u s ?
Data from Hamdy, Moorse, Whalen, et al. 19
THE FUTURE OF PHARMACY