LEVERAGING THE EXPERTISE AND ACCESSIBILITY OF PHARMACISTS IN PREVENTING OLDER ADULT FALLS

摘要

Over one-fourth of older Americans fall annually, resulting in 3 million emergency department visits and $50 billion in healthcare expenses. Progress toward reducing falls has been minimal, and promising interventions utilizing pharmacists have been neglected. This study documents a large pharmacy chain intervention that involved pharmacists educating patients on fall prevention. On February 6, 2018, fall prevention educational materials developed by the CDC were made available to older adult patients at 8,100 Walgreens locations. Patients received a small incentive to talk with pharmacists about fall prevention. Pharmacists reviewed fall prevention talking points and educational materials before the intervention. A random sample of 8% (n=655) pharmacists was electronically surveyed (1=low to 5=high) about the intervention. The survey response rate was 77% (n=510). During the intervention, pharmacists reported speaking to an average of 5.8 older adults (n=~46,905 chain-wide) about fall prevention, reaching nearly 40,000 more patients compared to a typical day (µ=0.9 conversations per pharmacist/day). Pharmacists had a favorable perception of the CDC materials ($\bar{x}$=4.21) and talking points ($\bar{x}$=4.23), were confident in their ability to discuss fall prevention with their patients ($\bar{x}$=4.29), and confident that these discussions could be incorporated into the daily work routine ($\bar{x}$=4.00). Pharmacists reported that their educational background prepared them to help older adults prevent falls ($\bar{x}$=4.29). The role of pharmacists in preventing falls among older adults has been underutilized. We found that pharmacists are confident in their ability to help prevent falls among their older patients, and have the potential to reach large numbers of older adults.