An Interview with Jerry Gurwitz

摘要

During the past decade, Dr. Gurwitz has led a series of studies that focused on understanding the magnitude of the problem of preventable adverse drug events among the elderly patient population in both the ambulatory and long-term care settings. Dr. Gurwitz has distinguished himself as a leading authority on medication safety issues in older adults. He and his colleagues have pursued a line of research that has shed light on a particularly understudied and often forgotten patient population—residents of nursing homes. More than 1.6 million Americans currently reside in long-term care facilities. These individuals are especially vulnerable to drug-related injuries due to multiple comorbid conditions, complex medication regimens, age-related changes in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and a clinical setting that has limited technological infrastructure and in which physicians spend very little time. Dr. Gurwitz's research has served to lay the foundation for the development and testing of both high-tech and low-tech interventions to improve medication safety among older adults.