Unit Dose Systems Prepared for Geriatric Patiens I

Overview

The project was carried out to facilitate and improve the quality of the use of drugs by geriatricpatients aiming at the observation of the therapeutic regimen and the improvement of theircompliance. The group under study comprised 15 clients living in a selected old people´s home inthe city of Brno, for whom the pharmacist prepared drugs into one-week blister dispensers on thebasis of their health dossiers for a period of 6 months (February – July 2002).Polypragmasia occuredin all patients included into a one-dose preparation for drugs; they took on average 16 drugs ina week. The most frequently administered drugs belonged to the ATC groups of psycholeptics,anti-inflammatory and antirheumatic agens, peripheral vasodilators, antianaemic agents, cardiactherapy, diuretics, and vasoprotectives and venopharmaceuticals. The dimensions of the dispensersused and the size of individual blisters in them proved to be sufficient with an average number of11 drugs dispensed weekly. The preparation of one-week drug dispensers was also evaluated fromthe standpoint of time consumption. The average time of preperatin of dispensers by the pharmacistwas 16 minutes 20 seconds. Time consumption was connected not only with the total number ofdrugs duspensed, but also with the frequency of drug dosing, dicvision (halving, quartering) of drugs,and frequent changes in medication.

Key words:
the elderly – polypharmacy – unit dose system