Specific features of rational geriatric pharmacotherapy: the role of clinical pharmacists in individualized drug treatment in older age
Abstract
Polypharmacy and polymorbidity are frequent phenomena in the older age and the complexity of prescribed drug regimens often lead to prescribing problems and indication of drugs, doses and drug schemes inappropriate in older adults. Also, physiological and pathological changes accompanied aging are not sufficiently respected.
The articles summarized results of previous European projects conducted in the Czech Republic in the area of potentially inappropriate prescribing in older patients. It refers to the most often used explicit criteria, supporting safety and efficacy of pharmacotherapy in older age and refers to importance of clinical-pharmacy services in primary and secondary care during the individualization of drug regimens.
At the end of the article is introduced newly starting EUROAGEISM H2020 project (FIP7 program) supported by the European Commission for the period 2017-2021. The main aims of this project are to describe problematic features of geriatric prescribing in Central and Eastern Europe (in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Slovac Republic, Serbia, Croatia and Albania, comparatively to Western-European and Northern-European countries: Ireland, Portugal and Finland) and to support development of clinical-pharmacy services in different settings of care in Central and Eastern Europe.