Recently, I’ve been thinking about dizziness, medication reconciliation and medication therapy management. Dizziness is a frequent, non-specific complaint often experienced as a transient side effect of drugs acting on the central-nervous system. When dizziness becomes persistent, it can negatively impact quality of life. In homecare, we care about our patients’ complaints of dizziness because of the potential for falls risk.

A recent vignette told over the bridge table illustrates the thread in my thinking: A friend’s neighbor, Irving, was experiencing persistent dizziness. When a new informal caregiver temporarily came on the scene, he became concerned about the medications his friend was taking. A man of action, he gathered and bagged all of Irving’s medications, and marched off to the local chain pharmacy dispensing most of them. The pharmacist reviewed the medications, and identified 2 potentially contributing medications, one of which should have been discontinued when the other was initiated. The pharmacist facilitated medication changes with the prescriber. The outcome: Irving’s dizziness gradually abated, and his quality of life has significantly improved.

In this case, medication reconciliation was facilitated by an informal caregiver and a pharmacist. I believe you can expect to see this as a growing trend. With upcoming provisions in Healthcare reform, medication therapy management by a pharmacist is expected to be covered for high-risk Medicare recipients. This is good news for those of us who have been collaborating together for years to improve medication management and prevent medication-related problems for community-dwelling elders.

To read more about what changes might be ahead with healthcare reform, here’s a recent article in AARP. Disclosure, I’m quoted in the article.