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
. 2023 May;40(5):391-396.
doi: 10.1007/s40266-023-01016-6. Epub 2023 Apr 12.

Optimizing Medications with the Geriatrics 5Ms: An Age-Friendly Approach

Patrick James Monette  1 , Andrea Wershof Schwartz  2   3
Affiliations

Optimizing Medications with the Geriatrics 5Ms: An Age-Friendly Approach

Patrick James Monette et al. Drugs Aging. 2023 May.

Abstract

Polypharmacy is a common problem among older adults, as they are more likely to have multiple chronic conditions and may experience fragmentation of care among specialists. The Geriatrics 5Ms framework offers a person-centered approach to address polypharmacy and optimize medications, including deprescribing when appropriate. The elements of the Geriatrics 5Ms, which align with the approach of the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative, include consideration of Medications, Mind, Mobility, Multicomplexity, and What Matters Most. Each M domain impacts and is impacted by medications, and learning about the patient's goals through questions guided by the Geriatrics 5Ms may inform an Age-Friendly medication optimization plan. While research on the implementation of each of the elements of the Geriatrics 5Ms shows benefit, further research is needed to study the impact of this framework in clinical practice.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

AWS serves as a faculty member for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative and on the Veteran Affairs national Age-Friendly steering committee. PJM has no disclosures or potential conflicts of interest to report. Some of this material is the result of work supported with resources and the use of facilities at the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System and the New England Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the US government.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Khezrian M, McNeil CJ, Murray AD, Myint PK. An overview of prevalence, determinants and health outcomes of polypharmacy. Ther Adv Drug Saf. 2020;11:2042098620933741. doi: 10.1177/2042098620933741. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Halli-Tierney AD, Scarbrough C, Carroll DG. Polypharmacy: evaluating risks and deprescribing. AFP. 2019;100(1):32–38. - PubMed
    1. Thompson W, et al. Tools for deprescribing in frail older persons and those with limited life expectancy: a systematic review. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2019;67(1):172–180. doi: 10.1111/jgs.15616. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Scott IA, et al. Reducing inappropriate polypharmacy: the process of deprescribing. JAMA Intern Med. 2015;175(5):827–834. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2015.0324. - DOI - PubMed
    1. 2019 American Geriatrics Society Beers Criteria® Update Expert Panel American Geriatrics Society 2019 Updated AGS Beers Criteria® for potentially inappropriate medication use in older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2019;67(4):674–694. doi: 10.1111/jgs.15767. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources