Frail older adults are at risk for over-medication and adverse medication effects. At the same time, the benefit of many drugs becomes less certain when individuals are frail. Nevertheless, there is little direction about how to optimize medications for those who are frail and few Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) are specific to this population. Attention to polypharmacy with frailty has the potential to improve the patient experience while reducing drug costs.
In conjunction with other groups, (Continuing Professional Development at Dalhousie University, the QEII Health Sciences Drug Evaluation Unit (DEU), and Diabetes Care Program of Nova Scotia), PATH develops evidence-informed medication guidelines for older adults with advanced frailty, including those living in long-term care.