Open AccessWise Choices in Health Care Especially Benefit Older People
Author(s) -
Chris Alderman
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
the senior care pharmacist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.229
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 2639-9644
pISSN - 2639-9636
DOI - 10.4140/tcp.n.2022.164
Subject(s) - proxy (statistics) , cognitive impairment , context (archaeology) , process (computing) , health care , cognition , psychology , older people , medicine , business , risk analysis (engineering) , computer science , psychiatry , gerontology , economics , economic growth , paleontology , machine learning , biology , operating system
In the real world of medical interactions, it is necessary to simultaneously manage several comorbidities. Moreover, in each case there are usually several different treatment options and only some of these will include medication. If medication is to be used, then it often needs to be deployed in the context of organ dysfunction, such as chronic renal impairment. For older people, how choice is made can be even more complicated because when there is cognitive impairment it may be necessary for consumer decisions to be made by a proxy such as a legal authority or a doctor. How then can the complexities of the medical decision-making process be negotiated logically, safely, and equitably?