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ASCP initiative helps reduce medication-related problems in elderly
Medication-related problems are common among older adults, costing billions of dollars a year and reducing the quality of life for many individuals suffering from such problems. Unless something is done to address this issue, the prevalence of medication-related problems will most likely increase as the baby boomer generation ages.
Fortunately, the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP) has stepped up to the plate and in the fall of 2008 launched Campaign 2011, a multi-faceted initiative designed to raise awareness of medication-related problems in the elderly, educate seniors and caregivers about the appropriate use of medications, and take additional steps including educating policy makers to reduce medication-related problems.
“ASCP wants to make the public aware of these medication-related problems in older adults, especially as the first of the baby boomers enter the Medicare population in 2011, hence the name of our initiative,” says Katharine Gavett, government affairs manager at ASCP in Alexandria, VA.
Medication-related problems are responsible for 28% of hospitalizations in the elderly and 23% of nursing home admissions and cost approximately 200 billion dollars a year, according to the Campaign 2011 brochure.
“If we can reduce the medication-related problems among older adults, we will improve their quality of life,” Gavett says. “Saving healthcare dollars at the same time is a definite plus.”
The initiative aims to empower consumers and providers through education about the proper use of medications, ensure elderly people at high risk for medication-related problems have access to a senior care pharmacist, and increase the number of pharmacists working to reduce medication-related problems among older adults.
“We encourage our members to go out into the community to address and educate seniors in all settings,” Gavett says. “Nursing homes can also support the different initiatives of Campaign 2011, whether it is educating seniors or supporting policy changes.”
For more information about ASCP’s Campaign 2011, visit www.ascpcampaign2011.com or contact Kathy Gavett at kgavett@ascp.com or (703) 739-1316 ext. 141.
AAHSA unveils Idea House during annual exposition
During the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging’s (AAHSA) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Chicago from November 8-11, the association unveiled it’s Idea House, a 2,600 square-foot model home that uses innovative technologies and design to help older adults maintain their independence at home.
“The majority of older adults would prefer to remain in their home where they can have a higher quality of life and the cost of care is much lower. The Idea House displays technologies that would allow them to do this while enabling caregivers to provide a high level of service,” says Majd Alwan, Ph.D., director of AAHSA’s Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST) in Washington, DC. “It really brought the future of technology in long-term care to life on the exhibit hall floor.”
The Idea House displays a variety of products, 90% of which are already on the market and available to consumers and providers. In addition to helping older adults remain independent in their homes longer, these technologies and designs can reduce healthcare costs, improve health outcomes, and provide caregivers with up-to-date health information. Some technology and design highlights included in the Idea House are as follows:
- Automatic medication dispenser and reminder
- Electronic medical records
- Height-adjustable bath and kitchen appliances
- Automatic personal emergency response system
- Interactive gaming system
- Artificial intelligent robot in place of live animal therapy
“Although the Idea House is designed as a single family home, many of the architectural design features, such as the wide doorways, zero step entry between rooms, common socialization areas, or adaptability of cabinets, could be easily adopted by nursing homes, assisted living facilities, greenhouse models, and other long-term care residences,” Alwan says.
In addition to health and safety technologies, the Idea House includes products to help seniors maintain their social network. “Although the Idea House aims to help people remain in their home, we don’t want to isolate them; we want to give them a dignified and fulfilling aging experience,” Alwan says. “The Idea House displays several technologies to support social connectedness, such as social networking sites for seniors, communications portals, two-way video conferences, and technologies that work to stimulate seniors both cognitively and physically.”
The Idea House displays a wide variety of groundbreaking technologies and designs, but perhaps the most remarkable was Cyberdyne’s Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) device. “Cyberdyne’s device is a robotic suit that uses the bio-electric signals a person’s brain and nervous system sends to muscles to activate an electromechanical limb, which is attached to the actual limb of the person,” Alwan says. “It assists in the motion and can multiply the force of the limb by up to ten times.” HAL can be used as a temporary rehabilitation device, a permanent device for a disabled individual, or a device to help caregivers provide more support and weight-bearing assistance to the people they care for.
Although the Idea House was dismantled and packed away after AAHSA’s Annual Meeting and Exposition ended, it will be available for viewing again at next year’s meeting, where it will display new ideas and products.
AAHSA Idea House 2009 (Photo courtesy of THW Design)
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