PHOENIX: The management objective of all long term care residences is to reduce or obviate the use of prescribed medicines. Here are five techniques to assist this outcome.
1. Accurate medication reconciliation upon admission to the facility: When an older adult is admitted to a new community, thorough medication reconciliation can identify duplicate therapies, medications causing adverse effects or prescriptions rendered unnecessary. Naturally, this will become easier in the future as Electronic Health Records become more prevalent. Until then, accurate analysis at the soonest possible date is a great way to find possible changes in an older adult’s medication.