TY - JOUR TI - Addressing polypharmacy: deprescribing in geriatric acute care DO - https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-tm5w-zw37 PY - 2019 AB - Background: As the American population ages with those over 65 years old accounting for about 15% of the population, more focus is needed in the area of polypharmacy. With multiple chronic conditions, the number of medications needed to treat these illnesses increases. This places the elderly at risk for adverse outcomes. Addressing polypharmacy will not only decrease economic cost but will also improve the quality of life of this population. In-patient acute hospitalization is an opportune time for providers to identify potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs). Interventions such as the screening tool of older persons' prescriptions (STOPP), screening tool to alert doctors to right treatment (START), and a pharmacist-led review of medications are useful ways of reducing these PIMs. Purpose: The overall goal of this project is to reduce polypharmacy in the geriatric population through the development of a pharmacist-led medication review protocol. The development of a pharmacy recommendation tool will facilitate a seamless communication between the pharmacist and licensed healthcare provider. Methodology: A retrospective review of patients' chart was conducted at an urban hospital in Northeast New Jersey. A total of 128 charts were reviewed to identify the number of PIMs ordered before and after the interventions were implemented. Patients ? 65 years old admitted to the geriatric program were randomly selected. Results: A paired t-test was used to analyze data. 49% of study participants were prescribed between 5-9 medications while 30% were prescribed 10-14 medications. Between November 1st to November 30th the pharmacy recommendation tool was utilized to modify 22 medications. The continued use of this tool will result in a significant decrease in the use of PIMs during the inpatient visit. Implications for Practice: Polypharmacy is costly to the economy due to adverse events. This project proved that a pharmacist-led review of medications is valuable in helping to reduce polypharmacy in the inpatient setting. The implication for policy is that a pharmacist-led protocol should be put in place to address this issue in the impatient setting. Further research is needed in this area of study. KW - Family Nurse Practitioner KW - Polypharmacy KW - Geriatric pharmacology LA - English ER -