The Medication Reduction Project: combating polypharmacy in South Dakota elders through community-based interventions

The Medication Reduction Project (MED RED) is a community-based program addressing polypharmacy issues in elders. Using educational presentations and one-on-one medication reviews conducted by a pharmacist specializing in geriatrics, MED RED reached over 1,100 older adults in rural and urban southeastern South Dakota communities during 1993. Analysis of the longitudinal data indicate that older adults participating in one-on-one reviews were on fewer medications, had dosage reductions, were more likely to take their medications as directed, and increased their use of non-pharmacological alternatives. These elders also reported feeling better, spent less money per month on medications, and offered indications of improved functioning and increased levels of independence. These findings suggest that education about medication use is a dynamic tool in empowering community-based older adults to be assertive participants in their own health care.