April 6, 2023

How Brookdale Helps Prevent Polypharmacy Among Residents

About Brookdale Senior Living

Brookdale Senior Living offers multiple care levels for seniors in more than 600 communities nationwide. Brookdale helps you find the right care plan for yourself or your loved one. With amenities such as transportation services, salons and private dining rooms and activities such as gardening, fitness classes and trivia nights Brookdale caters to a wide range of interests and needs.

Imagine having a patient who experiences multiple hallucinations, sleep disruption, forgetfulness and frequent falls. Recently diagnosed with dementia, this patient also has a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension, anxiety and UTIs. Her behavior becomes so erratic and her delusions so frequent that you’re considering the possibility of inpatient psychiatric care. But instead of a mental health disorder, this patient is actually suffering from serotonin syndrome, a result from the host of conflicting medications that she’s taking.

Such was the case for one woman who came to Brookdale seeking support for dementia. Life at home was no longer feasible — or safe — due to her many symptoms. She would leave the water running or leave food out for days at a time. It wasn’t until a Brookdale RN care manager reviewed her medications and raised the possibility that a combination of medications was the likely cause of many of her undue symptoms — and in conjunction with her health care providers, her medications were adjusted and within two days of staying at Brookdale, our resident was back to herself.

Other patients who come to us are self-administering medications. After a recent visit with her cardiologist, one patient decided to stop taking her prescriptions altogether. Once she moved into Brookdale, we consulted with both her primary care physician and her cardiologist, and we were able to revise her medication plan, reducing the number of prescriptions. Our community care associates now assist her in consistently taking her medications.

Poor medication management and adherence often results in stories like these, which, exacerbated by polypharmacy, can result in even more adverse outcomes. Falls, drug reactions, mortality and hospital readmissions are often associated with polypharmacy, and according to BMC Geriatrics, the risks increase as the number of medications rises.

The rise of polypharmacy among older adults

Polypharmacy among senior adults is a growing concern. More than 4 in 10 older adults take five or more prescription medications, while nearly 20% take 10 drugs or more, according to a 2020 report from the Lown Institute. Without proper oversight, if your patient has multiple chronic conditions and lives at home alone, they may be left to juggle a host of prescriptions by themselves, or they may forget to take their medicine altogether.

Care coordination with clinicians helps prevent polypharmacy

At Brookdale, we see the dramatic impact that effective medication management can have on the quality of life and outcomes for our residents. Our approach to helping prevent polypharmacy starts with coordinating with clinicians like you. Before your patient ever becomes a Brookdale resident, we will conduct a personal service assessment (PSA) to understand their unique needs, including their medications. The results from this assessment will inform their Personal Service Plan, a collaborative process with your patient’s entire care team.

Clinical oversight for medication management

Once your patient becomes a resident at Brookdale, we will continue communication with you to help prevent medication overlap. This includes coordinating with multiple providers on upcoming appointments and new prescriptions. Our electronic Medication Administration Record (eMAR) is linked to a Brookdale Preferred Pharmacy Provider, which means one primary pharmacy integrates with our electronic health record system (PointClickCare®) to help us manage prescriptions seamlessly. Brookdale clinical staff members are trained on effective medication management, so we monitor residents for changes in condition, new behaviors or undue side effects from their medications. And we can notify you every step of the way.

Whole-person care can help limit pharmaceuticals

Helping manage seniors’ chronic conditions should incorporate more than adhering to physician directives or filling prescriptions. At Brookdale, we embrace a proactive, whole-person approach to preventive care. This includes watching out for potentially unnecessary medications for our residents whenever possible and communicating concerns to our resident’s care team. Our Optimum Life® programming is a key component to our population health approach. Optimum Life® programming is based on Six Dimensions of Wellness: Physical, Emotional, Social, Purposeful, Spiritual and Intellectual. Such a framework synergizes medical and lifestyle approaches to help create better health outcomes.

Through Brookdale’s Optimum Life® programming, we nurture every aspect of our residents’ lives because we believe the best approach to maintaining health and wellness is through a comprehensive approach to overall wellness. Along with managing residents’ medication, we encourage non-pharmacologic means such as physical activity, social connection, and spiritual enrichment at Brookdale. For example, to help combat high blood pressure, we might encourage a resident to go for daily walks; or to help manage depression, a resident might join a social group. We provide options for daily exercise, nutritious food, engaging hobbies, social interactions, new classes, and technology so residents feel better connected to themselves and one another.

At Brookdale, we want to meet our residents where they are. To find out more about our approach to medication management and overall health and well-being, contact a representative today.

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