Objectives
Older adults may have difficulty managing their medication regimens, which requires assessment to address any potential problems. The purpose of our study was to identify and evaluate the content and applicability of geriatric medication assessment tools (GMATs) relating to medication management that could be used by pharmacists in any practice setting.
Methods
We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PubMed for articles published on GMATs The databases were searched from inception through September 2016 and restricted to the English language. Exclusion criteria included study samples that did not include older adults, tools related to specific disease states, and tools not related to medication management. A title/abstract screening was done, followed by full article review. We also conducted a reference search of key white papers/position papers (including the American Geriatrics Society Multimorbidity Guidelines). Articles selected were further reviewed manually for their reference lists. Data was abstracted by 2 reviewers for specific features of the tools.
Results
The search produced 62 articles, in which 4 unique assessment tools were found, with an additional 4 assessment tools identified through the AGS, for a total of 8 medication management tools. The tools were designed to take between 5-30 minutes to administer, and each tool generated a numeric score. Only 5 of the tools used the patient's own regimen, and 3 used a standardized regimen. Five of the tools identified if patients required additional supports for medication management. Most tools were correlated with a functional or cognitive measure.
Conclusion
A number of validated tools are available to determine medication management ability in older adults. Because there is no evidence of superiority of any single tool, the decision of using one tool over another is dependent on setting, outcomes being measured, the limitations with regards to time and materials needed to administer the tool.