Examines consultant pharmacists' concerns about prescription drug use in nursing homes and their perceptions of their
responsibilities for medication reviews for nursing home residents. A total of 461 consultant pharmacists from a stratified random sample of nursing homes were surveyed concerning quality of care issues and medication reviews. It was found that, according to pharmacists, nursing home patients are
experiencing numerous adverse reactions as a result of potentially inappropriate prescribing and inadequate administration or monitoring of the usage of medication. Forty percent of the pharmacists assessed the extent of cooperation from residents' personal physicians as only fair to poor, and many
had serious concerns about prescribing practices for antipsychotics, anxiolytics, sedatives/hypnotics, antidepressants, and other drugs. Pharmacists reported conducting some medication reviews without consulting important medical records and without having patients' diagnoses or laboratory reports.
It was also reported that the results of drug regimen reviews often were not documented in records readily available to nursing home staff. Three appendixes provide information on inappropriate medications for older adults, consultant pharmacists' assessment of medication problems, and additional
data tables. (MM) (Ageline Database, copyright 1998 AARP, all rights reserved)
