Each person is unique in how they react to prescription and over-the-counter medications. Factors like genetics and other medications you take can affect how you metabolize and respond to certain drugs. Understanding these factors can help prescribers identify potential problems, before they become issues, and optimize a person’s medication routine.
Specific genes determine how you metabolize certain medications. If a person has limited ability to metabolize a drug, for instance, it may not work properly. Medications can also be affected by other drugs. In fact, it’s possible for several medications, including over-the-counter vitamins or supplements, to interact with each other as they pass through the body, preventing certain drugs from working the way they should. For example, if a drug that causes dizziness is taken with other drugs that also cause dizziness, the effect compounds. This could lead to falls that require emergency department visits, hospitalizations and additional medical care.
According to a 2019 KFF Health Tracking Poll, a higher percentage of adults 65 and older reported taking four or more prescription drugs when compared to other age groups. This puts older adults at increased risk of falls and other harm. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, emergency departments recorded 3 million visits for falls among adults 65 and older in 2019. In addition, falls among this age group caused more than 34,000 deaths in 2019.
The KFF poll and CDC figures underscore the importance of personalized care for the elderly and others with complex care needs. Often driven by multiple chronic diseases, these patients are usually on several medications and ensuring they all work together safely and effectively is key for individual wellbeing. A one-size-fits-all approach, however, is not sufficient. A more personalized approach to medication management that considers a person’s individual response to their entire drug routine is necessary.
This is particularly important in value-based programs, such as PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly), that help people throughout the U.S. safely age in their homes through comprehensive medical and social services like prescription medications. For PACE and value-based care models delivering better coordinated, personalized care for patients is crucial.
To optimize medication routines, for instance, PACE prescribers across the country can collaborate with board-certified clinical pharmacists who are uniquely trained to use modern, sophisticated analysis to interpret results from genetic testing and look at all the medications patients take daily, including prescriptions, vitamins, supplements and herbals. This analysis helps PACE organizations determine which patients have the highest risk of harm and prioritize them for comprehensive reviews. During these reviews, pharmacists consult with prescribers to offer personalized recommendations to optimize drug therapy.
These reviews help prescribers reduce trial-and-error prescribing, by determining which medications might work best for an individual patient, why the standard dose of a medication might not be suitable for that patient or why a medication might be appropriate for one patient but not another.
Ultimately, optimizing drug therapy allows prescribers at value-based organizations to make more informed decisions that reduce risk of harm, supporting patient safety and improving quality of care. The result is better outcomes for both patients and organizations.
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