Prescribing practices in an Irish Long Term Care Setting.

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Clinical Pharmacy
• Health Services Research

Background:

• The elderly population in Ireland represents a significant demographic, with a high proportion of GMS prescription medications dispensed to them.
• Polypharmacy is a common issue among the elderly, particularly in long-term care settings where patients often have multiple complex medical conditions.
• Prescribing patterns in Irish long-term care facilities are not well-documented, necessitating a descriptive study.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe prescribing patterns in the Irish long-term care setting.
• To assess the impact of regular consultant review on prescribing practices over a six-month period.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive study was conducted in two long-term care units, identifying 76 patients.
• Data collected included patient age, diagnoses, and prescribed medications.
• Paired data from baseline and six-month follow-up were analyzed for 52 patients to evaluate the effect of consultant review.

Main Results:

• The average patient age was 80.9 years, with 75% females and 25% males.
• Patients had an average of 8.8 diagnoses and were prescribed an average of 9.2 medications at baseline.
• Central Nervous System (CNS) preparations constituted the largest proportion of prescriptions (42%), followed by Cardiovascular (16%) and Gastrointestinal (16%).
• Regular consultant review did not reduce the numerical total of medications but increased the number of PRN (as needed) prescriptions from 3.7 to 4.25 per patient.

Conclusions:

• Patients in Irish long-term care facilities are prescribed a higher than expected number of medications.
• Regular consultant review did not lead to a reduction in the overall number of prescribed medications.
• There is a need to establish standards for prescribing in long-term care settings to optimize medication management for the elderly.