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General Resources

Appropriate Prescribing for Elderly People

Cultural Awareness

  • EthnoMed
    This resource was developed by the University of Washington and "contains information about cultural beliefs, medical issues and related topics pertinent to the health care of immigrants."  The clinical topics and patient education sections are conveniently categorized by both topic and culture/language.  There is also a compilation of resources on cross-cultural health.

Disposal of Drugs

  • SMARxT Disposal
    This web site contains information about proper disposal of medications as part of a campaign created by The American Pharmacists Association  together with the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to educate consumers about how to dispose of medicines in a safe and environmentally protective manner.

Drug-Drug Interaction Identifiers

The following reference tools can be used for checking for drug-drug interactions. Enter the patient’s medicines and the tool will notify you if any relevant drug-drug interactions are identified.

Health Directory

  • Find a Physician (Little Blue Book)
    This health directory helps you in finding detailed contact information for the physician, pharmacy or hospital you are looking for by entering a zip code, city and state, or physician name. The system requires you to signed up for a Medscape account (free of charge) to use this resource.

Health Literacy

  • AHRQ Health Literacy Tools
    The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) posted two tools that can be used to assess health literacy.  These tools include the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine-Short Form (REALM-SF) and the Short Assessment of Health Literacy for Spanish Adults (SAHLSA-50).
  • CDC Health Literacy for Older Adults
    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has generated resource specific for older adults and health literacy issues.  This section on the CDC health literacy web site provides resources on “Guidance and Standards” for generating materials that will match the health literacy of the aging population.  Examples of these resources include but are not limited to communication guidelines, web communication guidance, and health education tools.

Medication Reconciliation

  • ASHP Medication Reconciliation (Med Rec) Toolkit
    Medication reconciliation is the process of identifying the most accurate list of a patient’s current medicines and comparing them to the current list in use. Any discrepancies should be recognized and changes documented. Medication reconciliation should be done at every transition in care in which new medications are ordered or existing orders rewritten. This medication reconciliation tool kit, brought to you by the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacy, aims to support the implementation and performance of medication reconciliation.

  • MATCH: Medication Reconciliation Toolkit
    This resource, hosted by Northwestern Memorial Hospital, provides an outlined training curriculum on medication reconciliation.  The toolkit includes educational materials addressing the following areas: 1) how to conduct a patient interview to retrieve reliable medication information, 2) how to perform a medication reconciliation, and 3) information on special considerations, such as cognition and health literacy.

Medication Safety

  • Patient Safety and Quality – an evidence based handbook for nurses
    This handbook from the National Institutes of Health is an online book that contains discussions and literature focused on patient safety and quality.  Its purpose is to encourage nurses/readers to use evidence to change practices in order to better patient safety and quality.  Some chapters of interest for medication management include: Chapter 18 Medication Management of the Community-Dwelling Older Adult, Chapter 13 Patient Safety and Quality in Home Health- Medication Management, Chapter 37 Medication Administration Safety, and Chapter 38 Medication Reconciliation.

  • Patient Safety Improvement Handbook
    This Veterans Health Administration (VHA) handbook provides guidance for minimizing the chance for unintentional medication errors to happen.

  • Technologies for Optimizing Medication Use in Older Adults [PDF]
    This paper was published by the Center for Technology and Aging in 2009.  It outlines the medication use in older adults and addresses areas of opportunities for medication optimization, including medication reconciliation, adherence, and monitoring.

  • To Err is human: Building a Safer Health Care System [PDF]
    The Institute of Medicine issued this report in November 1999 to increase awareness of U.S. medical errors. The report called for a joint effort from health care providers, the government and consumers in order to prevent medication errors.

  • A Systems Approach to Quality Improvement in Long-Term Care: Safe Medication Practices Workbook [PDF]
    The Safe Medication Practices Workbook “outlines a medication management system in long-term care.”  It contains 15 Tabs, each of which highlights a specific process within the system. Under each Tab is an explanation along with tools, reminders and resources for that section.  These Tabs include the areas of prescribing, dispensing, monitoring, educating residents and families, and much more.  This workbook was made by the Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors, Masspro, the Health Care Quality Improvement Organization for Massachusetts, and the Massachusetts Extended Care Federation.

Pill Identifier

  • RxList Pill Identification Tool
    This resource allows you to identify unknown pills, for example when the original packing is missing. Enter the imprint, color and/or shape of the pill and the system will present images of pills according to the description. Review the images in order to identify the unknown medication. 

Reference Tools

Substance Abuse and Misuse with Older Adults

  • Alcohol, Medication and Older Adults
    This modular educational program on substance misuse and abuse in older adults is designed for family, friends, and caregivers of the older adults. It covers such areas as alcohol, prescription and over-the-counter medications, signs of misuse, talking about sensitive issues, intervention and treatment, and more.
  • At Any Age, It Does Matter: Substance Abuse and Older Adults (for Professionals)
    This modular course for health professionals working with older adult addresses the issue of substance misuse and abuse.  The learning modules include recognizing alcohol/substance misuse and abuse, diagnosing substance problems in older adults, prevention and early intervention, treatment, legal and ethical issues, and more.
  •  Managing Chronic Pain in Adults With or in Recovery From Substance Use Disorders [PDF]
    This publication, provided to the public by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), provides guidance in treating chronic pain in adults with or recovering from substance abuse disorders.  It offers Treatment Improvement Protocols (TIPs) developed by the Center of Substance Abuse Treatment, an introduction in chronic pain and addiction, patient assessment tools, tools and guidelines in managing addiction risk in patients treated with opioids, patient education and treatment agreements, and much more.