Polypharmacy

How we are utilising pharmacists’ skills in our general practice

Care for people with long-term conditions is thought to consume about 70% of health and social care spending. Add on to this the estimation that 340 million consultations are undertaken each year, which is 40 million more than in 2008. Currently, GPs frequently handle all appointments regardless of …

RPS publishes updated competency framework for all prescribers across UK

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has published an updated competency framework for all prescribers on behalf of, and in collaboration with, all the prescribing professions in the UK.…

Pill organisers could put older patients at risk of adverse events

The use of pill organisers by older people could increase the risk of drug-related adverse events, say researchers.…

Pharmacy at home: service for frail older patients demonstrates medicines risk reduction and admission avoidance

The Exeter Cluster Pharmacy team is part of an integrated community health and social care service, providing domiciliary medicines optimisation to around 145,000 people.…

Medication underuse reduces quality of life among older patients

More than 70% of older patients potentially miss out on the drugs they need and these prescribing omissions are associated with a decreased quality of life, according to new research.…

Patients nearing death subject to unnecessary treatments and procedures

More than a third of older patients who are facing the end of their lives in acute hospitals are given unnecessary drugs, according to new research.…

Deprescribing cuts deaths in some studies but not others

Analysis of non-randomised studies found that deprescribing polypharmacy reduces mortality, while randomised studies showed no effect on mortality.…

Apixaban more effective than warfarin regardless of polypharmacy

The oral anticoagulant apixaban is consistently more effective than warfarin for patients with atrial fibrillation regardless of the number of other drugs they take, a study has found. …

Pharmacists have a critical role to play in hospital emergency departments

Member of the RPS English Pharmacy Board, Aamer Safdar, makes the case for having pharmacists as a permanent fixture in hospital emergency departments. …

How polypharmacy has become a medical burden worldwide

More patients than ever are taking a multitude of medicines and supplements, but this can cause more harm than good.…