Abstract
Medication management is becoming increasingly challenging for older people, and there
is limited evidence to guide medication prescribing and administration for people
with multimorbidity, frailty, or at the end of life. Currently, there is a lack of
clear research priorities in the field of geriatric pharmacotherapy. To address this
issue, international experts from 5 research groups in geriatric pharmacotherapy and
pharmacoepidemiology research were invited to attend the inaugural Optimizing Geriatric
Pharmacotherapy through Pharmacoepidemiology Network workshop. A modified nominal
group technique was used to explore and consolidate the priorities for conducting
research in this field. Eight research priorities were elucidated: quality of medication
use; vulnerable patient groups; polypharmacy and multimorbidity; person-centered practice
and research; deprescribing; methodological development; variability in medication
use; and national and international comparative research. The research priorities
are discussed in detail in this article with examples of current gaps and future actions
presented. These priorities highlight areas for future research in geriatric pharmacotherapy
to improve medication outcomes in older people.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 18, 2018
Footnotes
ECKT is supported by a NHMRC-ARC Dementia Research Development Fellowship. JSB is supported by a NHMRC Dementia Leadership Fellowship.
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© 2017 AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
