Pharmacy Practice In An Aging Society

Learn how to talk—and listen—to your elderly clients Pharmacy Practice in an Aging Society examines the aspects of aging that transcend physical and biological changes, addressing practical concerns such as communication, understanding values, and end-of-life issues. This unique book provides pharmacists with the basics on how to enhance their service to the elderly and offers additional suggestions for improving the empathy and understanding they have for their patients. The book explores general health and pharmacy concerns of the elderly, including abuse, neglect, sexuality, stress, and addictions, and presents methods of helping seniors stay healthy through exercise and with appropriate interventions. 34 figures, tables, and exhibits make complex information easy to access and understand. Fewer than five percent of persons over 65 end up in a nursing home, and many stay only long enough to recover or rehabilitate before returning home. The other 95 percent need our attention and our care. Pharmacy Practice in an Aging Society helps pharmacists develop the special tools they need to deal with the elderly, identifying the most challenging areas, and providing effective frameworks for addressing them. The book also includes sidebars that summarize important ideas, including: “Communication”—choosing the right words when delivering difficult or even unwelcome information to patients “Ethics on the Spot”—anticipating difficult questions and determining if information is appropriate to pass along to a patient “Statistics at a Glance”—comparative statistics presented in a way that makes a point “Cutting Edge”—current research findings and what they mean to your patients “Too Late Now”—when changing a patient’s behavior or adding a medication is unlikely to help “Then and Now”—compares past treatment and approaches with current ones and much more! Pharmacy Practice in an Aging Society is an essential resource for community and hospital pharmacists, educators, and anyone else with an interest in health.

As the number of older patients surge, so too will the medication management challenges pharmacists and other healthcare providers face with this population. Providing care for these often complex cases means not only staying on top of new medications and therapies, but dealing with a wide range of other issues as well. Now in its second edition, Fundamentals of Geriatric Pharmacotherapy, by Lisa C. Hutchison and Rebecca B. Sleeper, offers the full support you need to provide the most effective medication management and therapeutic decisions. This text is unique, not only as a comprehensive overview of major issues in geriatric pharmacotherapy and a core textbook for students, but as a resource for all healthcare professionals who treat elderly patients. Covering all major topics and issues, the second edition provides the most current information and proven strategies in one comprehensive guide, including associated issues that impact therapy, such as the coordination of care across multiple venues and caregivers. Inside this edition, you will find: Summarized treatment guidelines Evidence-based reviews Recommendations for the frail elderly Case studies and clinical pearls Key points, terms, and definitions Self-assessment questions Extensively referenced New chapters on Palliative and Hospice Care and Infections and Antimicrobial Stewardship The demands of an aging population mean that a greater understanding of geriatric pharmacotherapy is now essential for all healthcare providers. Written by practicing geriatric specialists, Fundamentals of Geriatric Pharmacotherapy provides all the detailed information and practical guidance you need.

As the first of the nation's 78 million baby boomers begin reaching age 65 in 2011, they will face a health care workforce that is too small and woefully unprepared to meet their specific health needs. Retooling for an Aging America calls for bold initiatives starting immediately to train all health care providers in the basics of geriatric care and to prepare family members and other informal caregivers, who currently receive little or no training in how to tend to their aging loved ones. The book also recommends that Medicare, Medicaid, and other health plans pay higher rates to boost recruitment and retention of geriatric specialists and care aides. Educators and health professional groups can use Retooling for an Aging America to institute or increase formal education and training in geriatrics. Consumer groups can use the book to advocate for improving the care for older adults. Health care professional and occupational groups can use it to improve the quality of health care jobs.

Students and practitioners will find Public Health for an Aging Society an invaluable resource both in the workplace and the classroom.

Let ASHP’s new book be your blueprint to a thriving ambulatory care practice, whether it’s health-system, physician, or community based. Get comprehensive, practical guidance on all your questions. Topics include: • How do I write a business plan? • What do I need to do to manage risk and liability? • Why do we need a marketing strategy? • Who handles reimbursements? • What credentials do we need? Plus: A companion web toolkit gives you all the help and templates you need to get going.

Social isolation and loneliness are serious yet underappreciated public health risks that affect a significant portion of the older adult population. Approximately one-quarter of community-dwelling Americans aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated, and a significant proportion of adults in the United States report feeling lonely. People who are 50 years of age or older are more likely to experience many of the risk factors that can cause or exacerbate social isolation or loneliness, such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and sensory impairments. Over a life course, social isolation and loneliness may be episodic or chronic, depending upon an individual's circumstances and perceptions. A substantial body of evidence demonstrates that social isolation presents a major risk for premature mortality, comparable to other risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, or obesity. As older adults are particularly high-volume and high-frequency users of the health care system, there is an opportunity for health care professionals to identify, prevent, and mitigate the adverse health impacts of social isolation and loneliness in older adults. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults summarizes the evidence base and explores how social isolation and loneliness affect health and quality of life in adults aged 50 and older, particularly among low income, underserved, and vulnerable populations. This report makes recommendations specifically for clinical settings of health care to identify those who suffer the resultant negative health impacts of social isolation and loneliness and target interventions to improve their social conditions. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults considers clinical tools and methodologies, better education and training for the health care workforce, and dissemination and implementation that will be important for translating research into practice, especially as the evidence base for effective interventions continues to flourish.

The research findings illustrated the elderly at risk of unplanned hospitalisation, resulting from diminished health can be predicted. Pharmacists can use the prediction strategy, in the form of a risk profile tool, to pro-actively assist the elderly at risk to manage medicines more effectively as part of a health care team effort, to work for improved drug use in Australia.