One of the doctors was surprised when he saw the list of medications of the patient who came to him. It was extremely long, but it turned out that the 86-year-old did not have to take them at all.
- One of the cardiologists shared on the web the story of an 86-year-old woman who is taking a lot of drugs. The patient did not know that some of them should be discontinued
- The entry and photos provided by the doctor caused a lot of discussion
- Some believe that it is the patients who lead to such situations, others see the problem, e.g. in pharmaceutical care
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Taking many medications by elderly patients is no surprise to anyone. Sometimes it is unavoidable, but doctors warn against taking too many medications at the same time without a full medical consultation. What was the surprise of Dr. Michał Chudzik, a specialist in cardiology and internal medicine, when he saw how many medications an 86-year-old woman was taking.
The doctor showed the 86-year-old’s medication list
Dr. Michał Chudzik photographed the drug list prepared by the patient’s son and shared it on Twitter. There were over 40 drugs on two sheets of paper. In the entry, the doctor revealed that the patient told him that none of the doctors, even during her stay in the hospital, mentioned anything about stopping taking any of the pills.
From today’s cardio-AOS, pts, 86. The list of drugs – as the patient says, the doctors wrote down, but did not say to discontinue the previous ones. Even in the hospital (list # 2) no one said to come off. She took depending on »how she felt up to it«. The patient’s son prepared the list of drugs
– wrote Dr. Chudzik.
He added that if he had not seen this schedule with his own eyes, he would not have believed that a woman weighing 60 kilograms was taking so many drugs.
The entry posted on Twitter caused a lot of sensation. A lot of people responded in the comments. Some believe that patients are ashamed of telling doctors about medications they have already taken or do not write down what medications they are taking, and even if the doctor asks about it, they reply that they do not know or do not remember, which is why this is the case.
The following comments could be found in the thread:
And if the patient does not want the doctor to know about everything he is taking. Contraceptives, antiretroviral drugs, antidepressants. It is often better not to admit to a doctor if you do not want to be preached, refused to provide services or treated like a madman.
The patient should always have a list of currently taken medications with him. When I ask what medications he is taking, the most common answer is “I don’t know,” “I don’t remember,” “and you don’t have it written there?”. I would also be quite distant about the fact that it was not said that the old drugs should be discontinued.
Anna Leder, spokesman for the Łódź branch of the National Health Fund, wrote:
A shocking example of polypragmasy (excessive consumption of drugs – ed.). Always take a list of medications, herbs, and dietary supplements that you take with your doctor. This avoids adverse drug reactions and gives you confidence that treatment is safe
There are also people who believe it is to blame for health care and pharmaceutical care.
«I look at the list of drugs from the P1 platform [Electronic Platform for Collection, Analysis and Sharing of digital resources on Medical Events — note ed.]. In the case of seniors, this review is automatically turned on when issuing prescriptions, and in the case of younger ones, I have to click the button. This is what every office needs. Unfortunately, not every program can do this and not every doctor has access » — commented Tomasz Zieliński, vice president of the Zielona Góra Agreement.
«And that is why pharmaceutical care is necessary. A sick person comes to my pharmacy with a list and the order is made. He knows what, when and what that cannot be done with. We do it for the benefit of the patient, but systematic pharmaceutical care should be introduced as soon as possible »