Electronic health records help monitor medications and avoiding usage problems in seniors

Use of medications that are linked to increased risk of falls in the elderly can be reduced through careful review of patient files in the Electronic Health Record, new Geisinger research shows.

Psychoactive drugs such as anti-anxiety medicines impact a person's neurochemistry and may predispose elderly patients to falls, which are a major cause of injury and death in the elderly.

Geisinger pharmacists and geriatricians recently reviewed the medication records of several hundred elderly patients using Geisinger's advanced, $90 million Electronic Health Record.

After the review, the patient's primary care doctor received an e-mail that contained medication recommendations tailored to individual patients.

Elderly patients used fewer psychoactive medications after their cases were reviewed, which has the potential to reduce falls, according to a Geisinger study in the April Journal of General Internal Medicine.

“Our research shows the importance of documenting a person's medication lists,” Geisinger Director of Internal Medicine and lead study lead author Valerie Weber, MD said. “The Electronic Health Record is a great tool for monitoring a person's medication and avoiding usage problems.”

It's estimated that 30% of patients over 65 take eight or more medications, which helps fuel healthcare spending. U.S. prescription drug sales topped more than $250 billion in 2007.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality funded the study.

About Geisinger Health System
Founded in 1915, Geisinger Health System (Danville, PA) is one of the nation's largest integrated health services organizations. Serving more than two million residents throughout central and northeastern Pennsylvania, the physician-led organization is at the forefront of the country's rapidly emerging electronic health records movement. Geisinger is comprised of three medical center campuses, a 700-member group practice, a not-for-profit health insurance company and the Center for Health Research—dedicated to creating innovative new models for patient care, satisfaction and clinical outcomes.

http://www.geisinger.org/