To keep you better informed about the biggest trends and developments affecting medication management, including medication adherence, medication reconciliation and pharmacy services, here are 10 of the most significant news reports published in July 2021. Highlights include stories on polypharmacy, a major specialty pharmacy survey, shortcomings of EHRs, deprescribing, and remote therapeutic management.
1. Polypharmacy Linked to Higher Risk of Hospital Readmission
While polypharmacy was linked to a higher risk of 30-day hospital readmission, the type of medication also mattered, reports AJMC.
2. ASHP Survey of Specialty Pharmacies Highlights Concerns Over Access to Payer Networks, Interest in Serving New Populations
Pharmacy Times reports on the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists' (ASHP) first annual survey of health-system specialty pharmacies, with the publication noting that the survey offered insights into the concerns of specialty pharmacists and provided an opportunity for professionals in the field to outline a potential future for the state of the practice.
3. Study: EHR Alerts Intended to Reduce Medications Linked to Dementia Largely Go Unread
Pharmacy Times reports on a study showing that electronic health record (EHR) alert messages intended to reduce the prescribing of high-risk medications linked to dementia in older adults largely went unread by healthcare providers and patients. The study found that 85% of the alerts sent to providers were ignored, and 95% of alerts to medical assistants went unread.
4. Medication Management Led to Improvements in Older Adults With CKD, Study Shows
AJMC reports that a pharmacist-led collaborative medication management service reduced problems associated with polypharmacy in older adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD).
5. Loneliness, Aging, and Polypharmacy
Researchers reported that older people who scored high on a loneliness questionnaire were more likely to take multiple medications than those reporting no social support deficits, according to MedPage Today.
6. Polypharmacy, Shifting Prescriptions Common for Autism Comorbidities
People with autism frequently switch medications to treat common co-occurring conditions, according to a new study covered by Spectrum.
7. The Importance of 'Deprescribing' Medications for Older Adults
Deprescribing and the potential risks of over-medicating patients was the topic of a recent interview with Dr. Jon Hallberg of the University of Minnesota Physicians Mill City Clinic on NPR's "All Things Considered."
8. Pharmacists Can Help Patients Manage, Prevent Migraines
Community pharmacists can play an important role in the prevention and management of migraines by providing medication management or helping in other ways, reports Pharmacy Times.
9. Remote Therapeutic Monitoring's Debut: What You Should Know (For Now)
This Physicians Practice column provides an overview of what is currently known and understood about remote therapeutic monitoring.
10. 5 Things to Know About Taking 5 or More Medications
AARP discusses polypharmacy and the potential risks of taking many medications, then provides some tips for patients.
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