MEDICATION USE AND RURAL SENIORS - WHO REALLY KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE TAKING

OBJECTIVE To determine whether listings of current medications obtaine d from the office file of patients' attending physicians and the pharm acy record of patients' dispensing pharmacists corresponded to the act ual use of medications in a group of non-institutionalized seniors res iding in rural communities. DESIGN In-home interviews followed by retr ospective office chart and pharmacy database reviews. SETTING Two rura l communities in southern Alberta with populations of less than 7000 p eople. PARTICIPANTS Twenty-five patients aged 75 years or older residi ng in the study communities, eight family physicians, and four dispens ing pharmacies. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Number of currently consumed pre scription drugs, currently consumed over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, and stored or discontinued prescribed medications; knowledge of medication s (prescribed, OTC, and stored) by family physicians and pharmacists; and number of prescribers or dispensing pharmacists. RESULTS Patients took a mean of 5.6 prescribed medications, took a mean of 3.5 OTC medi cations, and had a mean of 2.0 stored or discontinued medications. Att ending family physicians and primary dispensing pharmacists typically knew of only some of their patients' entire regimen of medications. CO NCLUSIONS Misinformation about medication consumption by seniors was c ommon among health care providers. Undertaking routine medication revi ews (with emphasis on OTC use), asking specific questions about actual consumption, encouraging use of one prescriber and one pharmacist, di scouraging storage of discontinued medications, and reducing use of me dication samples should be of benefit.