The American Society of Consultant Pharmacists in cooperation with the Peter Lamy Center on Drug Therapy and Aging at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy are actively Leveraging Pharmacists as Age-Friendly Champions. The overarching goals are to train 2,500 pharmacists and 950 long-term care pharmacies, with at least 250 pharmacies earning ASCP Age-Friendly national recognition with the goal to bring age-friendly care and the 4Ms into LTC settings to improve the care of older adults and the lives of family caregivers.

Age-friendly ecosystems are comprised of healthcare settings that practice using the 4Ms approach: a) asking what matters to the person, and optimizing b) mentation, c) medication, and d) mobility. By asking, “What Matters Most”, clinicians give voice to aging individuals, establishing care plans and health outcome goals that align with their care preferences. Patient dignity and wisdom are enabled by selecting strategies to improve “Medication”, “Mentation”, and “Mobility” within their accepted care framework, consistent with identified needs. The age-friendly, or 4Ms movement has been widely adopted and implemented across acute care (hospital), ambulatory care, and long-term care healthcare settings among diversely represented healthcare teams.

Continuing pharmacy education and board-certified geriatric recertification modules about the age-friendly movement are available at no cost.