Medication review for seniors — why is it important?

Older adults often take multiple medications at the same time. A regular medication review helps assess treatment safety, the risk of drug interactions, and whether recommendations are appropriately tailored to the patient’s current health status.

Older adults often live with several chronic conditions at the same time, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, coronary artery disease, osteoporosis, degenerative joint disease, memory problems, or chronic pain. As a result, a patient may be taking many medications at once, often prescribed by different specialists. The fact that several medications are being used does not in itself mean there is an error in treatment, but it does increase the need for regular review of the medication regimen and for assessing whether each medication is still necessary, well tolerated, and used correctly.

A medication review is especially important when a senior experiences dizziness, falls, drowsiness, confusion, worsening memory, drops in blood pressure, weakness, loss of appetite, constipation, nausea, bleeding, swelling, or new symptoms that appeared after a change in treatment. Some side effects may resemble symptoms of an illness or be mistakenly considered a natural part of aging. In older adults, the body may metabolize and eliminate medications differently, and the risk of interactions increases with the number of medications being taken.

For the assessment, it is worth bringing not only prescription medications, but also over-the-counter products, pain relievers, sleep aids, sedatives, herbal remedies, vitamins, and dietary supplements. Some patients do not consider supplements to be “medications,” so they do not mention them during the visit. This is a mistake, because these products can also affect how medications work or increase the risk of side effects. It is also important to check whether the patient is taking medications as directed, understands the dosing, and is not duplicating products with similar ingredients.

A geriatrician takes a comprehensive view of a senior’s treatment. They consider chronic conditions, functional status, cognitive function, fall risk, test results, the patient’s independence, and their realistic ability to follow medical recommendations. The goal is not to automatically reduce the number of medications, but to organize treatment in a way that is as safe, clear, and tailored to the patient’s current health status as possible. Some medications need to be continued, others modified, and some may be considered for discontinuation only after a physician’s assessment.

For a geriatric consultation, it is worth bringing a complete list of medications with dosages, the packaging of the preparations being used, test results, hospital discharge summaries, and information from other specialists. Chronic medications should not be discontinued on your own, especially those used for heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, epilepsy, depression, or anticoagulant therapy. At ProfessMed, a geriatric consultation can help organize a senior’s treatment and assess it in the context of their overall health.