Since birth until old age, the body’s functioning progresses and as it does so, it continues to decrease to a point where it shuts down completely which is what is known as death due to natural causes ( Manchikanti et al,. 2017). There are however various medications that are taken to ensure that this does not happen as fast as the body would naturally permit. These medications are completely necessary during the old age because that is when most of the bodily functions begin to fail. Therefore, in most cases, the older one gets, the more medication is needed. Prescribing drugs can, however, be challenging because not everyone can afford it.
Various methods can be applied to ensure that as many people as possible in the older generation get the medication. The already existing one, which is the most popular, is nursing homes. These are places where the elderly receive round the clock care from dedicated health workers. In these homes, medication can be administered free of charge thus taking care of those who cannot afford it. This can also help those with Alzheimer’s or dementia who often forget to take their medication on their own.
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Periodic prescriptions can also be helpful because it would allow time for more medicine to be manufactured and distributed to hospitals and drug stores where they can be easily accessed. In addition, transporting medication to remote areas frequently would aid the older generation that lives in such areas and cannot get to the distribution point as easily as others. This facility would be made possible entirely by volunteers to ensure smooth operations.
Another efficient method would be minimizing the number of medications prescribed ( American Geriatrics Society 2015 Beers Criteria Update Expert Panel et al., 2015 ). Some of the medication administered is usually preventive and its side effects can be tasking, even more than the disease being prevented (Tick et al,. 2018). Doing away with these medications will protect the elderly from these side effects.
The treatment of the elderly is a widely discussed subject because there are those who believe that they are not worth spending money and resources over. Therefore, the methods above would ensure that the drugs benefits as many as possible and also keep them from harm's way as a result of inefficient drug prescription methods.
References
American Geriatrics Society 2015 Beers Criteria Update Expert Panel, Fick, D. M., Semla, T. P., Beizer, J., Brandt, N., Dombrowski, R., & Giovannetti, E. (2015). American Geriatrics Society 2015 updated beers criteria for potentially inappropriate medication use in older adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society , 63 (11), 2227-2246.
Manchikanti, L., Kaye, A. M., Knezevic, N. N., McAnally, H., Slavin, K., Trescot, A. M., & Hirsch, J. (2017). Responsible, safe, and effective prescription of opioids for chronic non-cancer pain: American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) guidelines. Pain Physician , 20 (2S), S3-S92.
Tick, H., Nielsen, A., Pelletier, K. R., Bonakdar, R., Simmons, S., Glick, R., & Zador, V. (2018). Evidence-based nonpharmacologic strategies for comprehensive pain care: The Consortium Pain Task Force white paper. Explore , 14 (3), 177-211.
