An Assignment Submitted by
What is Beer’s list, what is the purpose?
Beer’s Criteria for Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Elderly, or more commonly known as Beer’s Criteria, is the list of medications that are not recommended to use for the treatment of the older patients. The main purpose of this list is to prevent the negative reaction to drugs, avoid the adverse drug interactions, and exclude medications that are not necessary for the elderly. It is important for the health care providers to consult the list in order to prevent the adverse consequences for the older adults.
What commonly used medications appear on the list that is ordered routinely for your patients?
There are multiple drugs included to the Beer’s list that are commonly used for the younger patients, including analgesics, antidepressants, and diabetes drugs. For example, the list includes Meperidine, which is an analgesic, due to its neurotoxicity and the ability to provoke cognitive impairment (American Geriatrics, 2012). Also, insulin is not recommended because of the hypoglycemia and its poor efficacy in elderly patients (American Geriatrics, 2012).
What ramifications might your findings have for your patient?
Every health care provider has to take into account not only the state of health of the patients and their individual intolerance of a specific drug, but also their age group. The current findings will help me to distinguish between the medications used for the elderly patients, where I will be able to determine if a patient can be treated with a particular drug. I believe that the current findings will help me to improve the quality of care I provide and increase the effectiveness of the treatment.
What are your responsibilities to the patient regarding your finding?
As a nurse, I am obligated to take care of patients, guarantee that the health care providers do the same, and advocate for the patients’ rights. Consequently, I will make sure that the medications prescribed for the elderly patients are appropriate. I will inform the patients regarding the list and recommendations and collaborate with the other health care providers in terms medication use. I will be able to provide recommendations for the elderly patients in terms of drug treatment and the possibility to use alternative or more effective medications for them.
References
American Geriatrics. (2012). Beer’s Criteria. Retrieved from http://www.americangeriatrics.org/files/documents/beers/BeersCriteriaPublicTranslation.pdf
