Elderly people often suffer from several diseases simultaneously and use several medications for them. When patients use five or more different types of medication simultaneously over an extended period of time, this is called polypharmacy.
Polypharmacy can cause many problems: falls, confusion, loss of appetite... Some medicines can either oppose or reinforce each other. In addition, the elderly are particularly susceptible to the harmful effects of medicines, not in the least because their kidney function may be impaired. The risk of interactions and side effects increases when different doctors prescribe medicines, without knowing what the others are giving.
In the polypharmacy clinic, we can help you to get back on track with your medication schedule. The polypharmacy clinic works with multidisciplinary team. You will be seen by a nurse, a pharmacist and a doctor during an admission to the geriatric day hospital.
During the admission, some routine examinations are performed by means of a blood test and a heart scan (electrocardiogram). After this you will be seen by the clinical pharmacist.
It is important to bring the list of your current medication. We also recommend that you bring all your medication boxes so we can prepare a complete and clear basic schedule.
This basic schedule will be reviewed together with the doctor who will check if everything is correct and if certain things can be improved. In case of excessive use of sleeping pills or painkillers, we can help you to responsibly reduce your intake. Medication that causes too many side effects may be replaced by an alternative. Redundant medication can be stopped, but any essential medication that is missing, can also be started up. Dosages that are too high or too low are adjusted.
We also help you with the correct administration of, for example, inhalers and drops. In case of complex problems, the increase and reduction of your medication will obviously require a few appointments; always in consultation with you and your GP. If necessary, a home care nurse can be asked to help you with the preparation and administration of the medication at home. A clearly adjusted medication schedule will be given to you upon discharge.
Consult our brochure here.
