Guidance to manage inappropriate polypharmacy in older people: systematic review and future developments

Prevalence and nature of statin drug-drug interactions in a university hospital by electronic health record mining

“…Simvastatin Atorvastatin Click here to download Table Table 1.docx Table 2 : Prevalence of drug-drug interactions in percentage (absolute number), and number of listed drug-drug interactions according to each drug database. (5,117)…”

“…Given that patients taking statins are polymedicamented [5], avoiding drug-drug interactions 5 (DDI) and subsequent potential adverse drug reactions is of concern to optimize patient management. In a recent systematic review, the prevalence of DDI's with statins has been variable ranging from 0.2 % to 33 % depending on the interacting combinations studied, on the source (out-or in-patient records or primary care-databases) and on the drug interaction database used [6].…”

From policy towards pharmacy practice: A review of the intended use of ehealth in pharmacy in Scotland

“…In addition, further Scottish Government investment based on the pivotal 'Prescription for Excellence' strategy, will implement and evaluate key advances: centralised medication supply chain 'hub and spoke' robotic dispensing; movement towards a five year integrated Master of Pharmacy degree, including one year of placement; all Scottish pharmacists becoming clinical independent prescribers by 2023 [17]. With the ageing and increasingly multi-morbid population growing across Europe, Scotland is not alone in seeking strategies to address issues of polypharmacy and adherence [33][34][35][36]. These are areas in which the pharmacist supported by ehealth can play a key role [19,22,23,25] within the multidisciplinary team.…”

A case study of the implementation and sustainability of medication reviews in older patients by clinical pharmacists

“…1 Polypharmacy, the prescribing of multiple medications, is often necessary to treat the individual's medical conditions. 2 However, inappropriate polypharmacy, the prescribing of multiple medicines which are either inappropriate or no longer indicated, 3 is common among older patients. The prevalence of inappropriate prescribing in older patients in Sweden and other developed countries ranges from 20 -50 %.…”

“…9 Healthcare interventions, like medication reviews, are often successfully conducted in a research or project setting, but the implementation and embedding in clinical practice is challenging. 3,10 In 2015, a European Union (EU) co-funded project, 'Stimulating Innovation Management of Polypharmacy and Adherence in the Elderly (SIMPATHY)' commenced, with the aim to stimulate, promote and support innovation across the EU in the management of appropriate polypharmacy and adherence in older patients. 11 One of the key activities of SIMPATHY was the performance of case studies in 8 European countries: Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom (UK).…”