Skilled Nursing Facility pharmacy solutions. As science discovers more about how the human body functions and metabolizes medications, the potential to personally optimize medications for residents increases. The topic of pharmacogenetics is increasing in popularity as we progress toward personalized medicine. We have learned a significant amount about how an Read more…
Rising medication costs are a significant concern nationwide and in skilled nursing. Today, prescription drug expenditures account for nearly 20 percent of healthcare costs, and prescription spending is growing faster than any other part of health care. Consider these facts: American spending on prescription drugs increased 13.1 percent in 2014—the Read more…
Because of the potential for injury when an older person falls, participants, family members, and providers in the PACE environment should all be familiar with medications and medical conditions that increase the risk of falls. Medications—and their side effects—are one of the major causes of falls in the elderly. Everyone Read more…
It’s well known that certain medications can increase fall risk—and that post-acute care pharmacy providers play a key role in mitigating that risk. Pharmacy providers must work alongside other members of the SNF’s multidisciplinary team to help lower fall risk among all residents. Every healthcare provider knows that medication can Read more…
Food, liquids, and medications are absorbed, distributed throughout the body, metabolized, and then eliminated. This is accomplished through a complex and complicated process involving a host of your body’s enzymes. Obviously, knowing how slow or how quickly a medication is metabolized and eliminated from the body is crucial when prescribing Read more…
Pharmacogenomics Pharmacogenomics (Pgx) is the study of how genes affect a person’s response to medications. Until recently, medical experts thought that medications were a “one-size-fits-all” solution for post-acute care. For example, if a certain amount of a drug taken daily prevented clotting around a stent in individuals in clinical trials, Read more…
According to the Institute of Safe Medication Practices, approximately 7,000 deaths occur every year in the United States due to medication errors that could have been prevented. And medication errors are just as possible among the PACE population as in a standard healthcare setting. The ultimate goal of PACE, including PACE Read more…
Care transitions are one of the times when a resident’s risk of potential medication errors significantly increase. An estimated 80 percent of medical errors occur during the transition between medical providers. Of those errors, 40 percent involve medications, and 20 percent result in harm to the resident. The challenges to Read more…
Many PACE participants have multiple disease states that require numerous medications. This leads to complex medication regimens consisting of multiple medications—what we in the industry refer to as polypharmacy. Without oversight, polypharmacy in seniors can be a significant problem. Taking multiple medications at one time increases the risk for adverse Read more…
In 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced the Final Rule, a set of new regulations that significantly impact LTC pharmacy services. The most taxing phase of the Final Rule, Phase 2, went into effect in November 2017. While Phase 1 introduced a number of important medication-related Read more…