|
|
|
|
||
|
||
|
|
||
| SEARCH | SUBSCRIBE | ||
|
 |
When
drugs collide By
Don O’Briant, The Older Atlantans may think their only drug problem is how to pay for
their prescriptions, but a growing number of seniors are finding that just
what the doctor ordered may be unnecessary or even harmful.
"One person was taking two medications -- Lisinopril and Captopril
-- that both work the same way," said Mary Byrd, health and
wellness coordinator for the Atlanta Regional Commission. Someone else was taking three strong diuretics, although he had been
informed by his doctor that he should have stopped one of them after
getting a new prescription. The Nationally, more than 6 million elderly Americans outside nursing homes
use potentially inappropriate drugs, the Journal of the American Medical
Association estimates. And Medco, a national pharmacy health care service,
reports that the number of its clients who are overmedicated has doubled
from 3.4 million to 7.9 million since 1999. Another screening participant, Arlene Styer, 67, of Hapeville, was
taking three medications that expired three months ago. Her husband, Harley, explained that his wife did not take some of her
medications regularly, so she had pills left over from old prescriptions. "She's had several strokes and she has short-term memory
loss," Harley Styer said. He tried to get her to put her pills in a
daily dosage container, but she refused. Expired medicines usually are not harmful, said Factors contributing to the problem include lack of doctor
communication, shopping at different pharmacies for better prices, buying
drugs online or using over-the-counter drugs that may interact with
prescription medications. And the problems are likely to get worse as the aging population
develops more chronic illnesses and sees multiple doctors, said Carol
Reis-Starr, associate director of the Southeast Center of Excellence in
Geriatric Medicine. "Each doctor may prescribe medications without knowing what else
the patient is taking," Reis-Starr said. Sometimes the patients can't
remember all of their medications and sometimes doctors may be too busy to
ask. Without a central record of all their medications, Reis-Starr said, the
chance for duplicated or potentially harmful interactions is increased. "One pharmacy is not aware of what is being filled at another
pharmacy," she said. "Sometimes they get drugs they don't need
or they have a side effect from one drug and a doctor will prescribe
something to treat the side effects and it becomes a vicious cycle." The three major drug chains in metro But the system works only if the patient provides complete information. "If they're getting a prescription at other locations, they need
to bring that to our attention," said Tami Alderman, manager of
community relations for Eckerd. "We have a computer program to
request additional information about any drugs they are taking." Buying cheaper drugs from Ira Katz, owner of Little Five Points Pharmacy, said, "I can
understand why they do it if they're on a fixed income. But we cannot
control the integrity of those drugs. We don't know where they came from.
Here in this country, we can track them." And common over-the-counter drugs or herbal remedies can create health
hazards when taken in combination with prescription medications. "Benadryl can be sedating in older people and increase the risk of
falls," said Dr. Glen Stettin of Medco. "They should use
nondrowsy medicines for allergies. And Sudafed can increase blood
pressure." In addition to her nine prescriptions, Theola Samra, 81, said she takes
calcium, vitamin D, vitamin C, vitamin E, garlic and evening primrose oil.
"I'm a registered nurse and I know what I'm doing," said Samra,
who came to get the Vial of Life emergency kit at the Hapeville session. Others are not so knowledgeable, and the program will teach them how to
spot drug interactions and the best way to take prescriptions. At brown bag sessions at senior centers throughout metro Similar programs are in place all over the country. Eckerd pharmacies
sponsor one in The sessions can be reassuring as well as informative. Dot Folds, 71, of Conyers attended the screening at the "I was just experiencing normal side effects," Folds said
after her talk with the pharmacist. "It was a good session and I'm
pleased that I went." At the "The labels are not in Spanish and no one speaks Spanish at the
pharmacy," said John Chafin, the In most cases, Martel said, duplicated medications don't pose a health
hazard, but they are an unnecessary expense for those Americans who can
least afford it. "It's expensive to the individual and it's expensive to the health
insurance covering this cost," said John Rother, policy director for
AARP. "It's a huge problem. It's known that a large percentage of
emergency room visits are due to interactions, overmedication or
undermedication." One of the advantages of the Medicare bills before Congress that would
provide prescription benefits is that if they're tied in to a common
information system, it should make it possible for the pharmacist or
doctor to catch any problem at the point of prescribing, Rother said.
"By putting everybody's medication in the same system, you have the
potential of saving money and improving health." And saving money is a big concern for seniors on a fixed income such as
the Styers of Hapeville. Both Harley and Arlene Styer take Lipitor to
control their cholesterol at a cost of $95 each for 30 pills. "It's about to kill me," said Harley Styer. When told by Byrd that he was eligible to get Lipitor for $15 through a
drug assistance program called Georgia Cares, he smiled for the first time
since arriving at the senior center. "That's wonderful," he said. "Fifteen dollars is a lot
better than ninety-five."
Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
At
a series of recent screenings in