The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 277 No 7425 p542
4 November 2006

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Older people to ask about medicines

The fourth Ask About Medicines Week runs in England from 6 to 10 November. Clare Bellingham finds out what is happening

Older people have the starring role in this year’s Ask About Medicines Week. The reason is simple: older people use more medicines than the rest of the population. Ask About Medicines has plenty of statistics to support the choice: four-fifths of people aged over 75 years take at least one prescribed medicine, with 36 per cent of this age group taking at least four. But the real problem is not the widespread use of medicines but that as many as 50 per cent of older people may not be taking their medicines as intended.

Joanne Shaw, chairman of AAM, says: “As people get older, they take more medicines. Latest figures show that from the age of 50 years, the average person adds one more medicine every 10 years. The average 50 year old takes 3.8 different medicines each year, this then increases to 5.1 at 60 years, 7.5 at 70 years and 8.5 at 80 years.”

Having decided the theme, AAM came up with the following key messages for this year’s campaign:

· As we get older we take more medicines

· Asking questions about medicines helps us to use them safely and effectively

· Some people, particularly those in the oldest age groups, need to be encouraged to ask questions about their medicines

· Confusion about medicines can lead to inappropriate use

The aim of AAM week is obvious: to get people to ask questions about their medicines. The difficulty for many patients is knowing what questions to ask. And that is why AAM has produced a list of questions that provide a starting point for patients. Pharmacists might find it useful to be familiar with the list (see Panel below).

So what is happening this year? Many primary care organisations, community pharmacists and hospital pharmacists are expected to be involved in events during AAM week. Action packs have been distributed by AAM and these are still available on the company’s website (www.askaboutmedicines.org).

“Pharmacists will be actively involved in a range of activities,” says Ms Shaw. “Many pharmacists are downloading posters to display in pharmacies, working with PCT colleagues on stands in public places, offering specific sessions in pharmacies and setting aside time to be available for people to telephone with questions.” She adds: “In particular, pharmacists going to places outside the pharmacy, like day centres or lunch clubs, is of huge value.”

Patients will clearly benefit from knowing more about their medicines but there are additional reasons why pharmacists might want to get involved in AAM week. For community pharmacists, it could provide a way to deliver parts of the new contract, such as the health promotion service or promoting medicines use reviews. Hospital pharmacists might use the campaign as a way to tackle some of the recommendations in the recent Healthcare Commission report around improving patient information.

It is not too late to get involved. “It only takes a few minutes to go to the AAM website and download some posters,” says Ms Shaw. “Then perhaps pharmacists could dedicate a one-hour session sometime during the week when they are available just to answer questions.” As an added incentive, Merck, Sharp & Dohme is providing at least 20 grants worth up to £1,000 each to support AAM initiatives. Further details are available from the Ask About Medicines website.

One organisation that has evidence to demonstrate that people want more information about medicines is NHS Direct. Anne Joshua, national pharmaceutical adviser at NHS Direct, says: “We have found that a lot of older people are looking for quite detailed information; they are expert patients. Drug interactions are the most common inquiry, followed by choice of treatment.”

Since the beginning of this year, NHS Direct has been running a project to enable people to obtain in-depth information about medicines from pharmacists. “It is a service we have been offering to people who submit questions to our online enquiry service. We reply to them, giving them the opportunity to speak to a pharmacist directly by telephoning a specific number,” explains Ms Joshua. The person’s call goes to a dedicated line at the UK Medicines Information regional centre at Guy’s Hospital in London. So far, 40 people have used the service and now NHS Direct has decided to use AAM week to promote it.

Another new service to be launched during AAM week tackles patient information leaflets. Developed by the Royal National Institute for the Blind and Datapharm Communications, it will give patients a new choice of format of patient information leaflet: in large print, Braille or audio (all available from the RNIB). Pharmacists will be able to download large-print PILs from the service’s website (xpil.medicines.org.uk).

Pharmacists are the experts in medicines. So it is logical for pharmacists to be involved in AAM week. As Ms Shaw says: “Pharmacists are a key group of health professionals that patients look to for advice on medicines and AAM values pharmacists’ contribution to the campaign.”