Clinical pharmacist assessment of older adults' functional abilities to take their medication: a cross-sectional descriptive study in a geriatric acute care ward

Objectives

Aging is associated with a decline in functional capacities, which can lead to challenges in medication preparation. Identifying these issues appears essential. The objectives of this study were to describe the proportion of pharmaceutical interventions carried out following the identification of patient difficulties in preparing and administering medications, and to characterize the difficulties identified.

Study design

Descriptive cross-sectional study with data collected during 42 pharmaceutical interviews with patients hospitalized on an acute geriatric ward. The interview consisted of two parts: i) a questionnaire assessing potential difficulties, and ii) direct observation of medication preparation using pharmaceutical forms similar to those usually prescribed to the patient.

Main outcome measures

The main outcome was the occurrence of at least one pharmaceutical intervention following the identification of difficulties.

Results

Pharmaceutical intervention was suggested to 95.0 % of patients where a difficulty was identified, representing 45.2 % of patients included. Interventions included education on correct use (16.0 %), substitution of pharmaceutical forms (16.0 %), implementation of tools for patients (36.0 %) and home assistance (32.0 %). These interventions were accepted by the geriatrician in all cases and by the patient in 80.0 %. At least one difficulty was identified for 47.7 % of the patients.

Conclusions

This study shows that identifying functional difficulties in medication preparation enables tailored interventions to address these issues. Observing older adults' abilities to manage their medication could reduce the risk of medication errors and probably enhance their daily quality of life.