Pharmacists Play a Huge Role in Educating Prescribers

Over medication is a significant problem in healthcare, and pharmacists and physicians need to work together to address it. Polypharmacy becomes even more of an issue for certain kinds of conditions that are generally associated with the elderly, the age group at highest risk for polypharmacy.

Older people are more often afflicted with illnesses like heart disease, lung disease, cancer, and strokes. They are often taking several different kinds of drugs to control one or more of these illnesses.

Physicians can rely on pharmacists and their knowledge base. Pharmacists are aware of potentially harmful medications that people can be taking because of dosage or their interactions, which physicians may not be aware of. Pharmacists can be a big help in devising a deprescribing plan for patients.

Pharmacists also have an important role to play in educating physicians on the risks that are associated with polypharmacy and how to handle the situation. Pharmacists can be helpful in explaining how to evaluate a patient’s medication list for problematic interactions. Read More >>