Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2009 Dec;24(12):1296-302.
doi: 10.1007/s11606-009-1132-4. Epub 2009 Oct 8.

How do physicians conduct medication reviews?

Derjung M Tarn  1 , Debora A Paterniti, Richard L Kravitz, Stephanie Fein, Neil S Wenger
Affiliations
Comparative Study

How do physicians conduct medication reviews?

Derjung M Tarn et al. J Gen Intern Med. 2009 Dec.

Abstract

Background: Medication reviews are recommended annually for older patients. A medication review is a discussion of a patient's complete set of medications, but the actual content of a review is not well specified. The medical literature suggests that it is an exhaustive evaluation, but what physicians actually ask about their patients' medication regimens has been little studied.

Objective: To describe what physicians do when they review medications in the office setting.

Methods: Qualitative content analysis of audio-taped encounters between 100 patients aged 65 and older and 28 primary care physicians in two health care systems in Sacramento, California.

Results: Physicians use a combination of non-mutually exclusive strategies when reviewing chronic medications that include: (1) efforts to obtain a complete list of patient medications (36% of visits), (2) discussion of a topic related to the management of each of a patient's chronic medications (47% of visits), and (3) sequential discussion of the majority of a patient's medications without intervening discussion (45% of visits). Of 10 medication management topics that were discussed in medication reviews, a mean of 1.5 topics (SD = 1.7, range 0-7) were mentioned for each medication, with efficacy and directions being most common. Physicians conducted a sequential discussion that included discussion of each of a patient's medications in only 32% of visits.

Conclusions: Comprehensive discussions about chronic medications are uncommon in routine practice. Practical conceptualization of what constitutes a physician-conducted medication review is needed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Percentage of visits and medications for which topics related to medication management were discussed.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Prescription Drug Trends Fact Sheet: May 2007 Update: Kaiser Family Foundation; 2007.
    1. Cost Overdose: Growth in Drug Spending for the Elderly, 199220132010. Publication No. 00-107. Washington, DC: Families USA Foundation; 2000.
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1007/s11920-008-0008-3', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-008-0008-3'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '18269893', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18269893/'}]}
    2. Barry PJ, Gallagher P, Ryan C. Inappropriate prescribing in geriatric patients. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2008;10:37–43. - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1001/archinte.160.14.2129', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.160.14.2129'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '10904455', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10904455/'}]}
    2. Bedell SE, Jabbour S, Goldberg R, et al. Discrepancies in the use of medications: their extent and predictors in an outpatient practice. Arch Intern Med. 2000;160:2129–34. - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1046/j.1532-5415.2001.49265.x', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1532-5415.2001.49265.x'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '11890495', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11890495/'}]}
    2. Bikowski RM, Ripsin CM, Lorraine VL. Physician-patient congruence regarding medication regimens. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2001;49:1353–7. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances