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Background: Frailty and medicine‐related problems are common among the elderly and have been associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes. However, there has been limited research on the association between frailty and medicines use. Aim: To determine the distribution of frailty among older people who used medicines and to examine the difference in frailty scores over time with continuation or discontinuation of specific medicines. Methods: The study population was from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ALSA). The data used in the analysis were collected in 1992 (wave 1) and in 1995 (wave 3). Frailty scores were assessed at both waves using a modified version of the Frailty Index. Non‐parametric tests were used to examine the difference in the distribution of frailty scores in relation to medicines used at baseline. Medicine use was categorised into continued or stopped by comparing use at wave 3 to use at baseline. A t‐test was used to compare the mean changes in frailty scores between the two groups, with a p‐value of <0.05 considered to be significant. Results: Data from 2087 participants were included. At baseline, a higher number of medicines used was associated with higher frailty scores (p < 0.0001). Stopping any preventive medicines, as well as beta‐blockers, or potassium‐sparing diuretics, was associated with a higher increase in mean frailty score changes than continuing these medicines, p = 0.01, p = 0.03 and p = 0.004, respectively. Conclusions: There was an association between frailty and medicines use. Further study is needed to assess whether the progression of frailty was due to medicine cessation or vice versa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Aim: We evaluated the impact of quality improvement interventions at different time points on the uptake of collaborative Home Medicines Reviews (HMRs). Methods: National interventions to promote HMRs, comprising patient‐specific prescriber feedback and tailored educational materials for patients and clinicians, were conducted in 2004, 2006 and 2011 through the Veterans’ Medicines Advice and Therapeutics Education Services (Veterans’ MATES) program. Primary care patients taking multiple medicines were targeted in each intervention, while primary care patients taking multiple medicines who did not receive the intervention served as comparisons. Monthly HMR rates among targeted patients and a comparison group in the 9 months post‐intervention were determined using health claims data from the Australian Government Department of Veterans’ Affairs and compared using log binomial regression models. Overall trends in the rate of HMRs between November 2001 and December 2016 were also determined. Results: Over 40 000 patients were targeted in each HMR intervention. Relative increases in HMR uptake were observed among patients targeted in the 2004 intervention (rate ratio (RR) 1.76 (1.39, 2.22), p < 0.0001), the 2006 intervention (RR 1.45 (1.19, 1.76), p = 0.0002) and the 2011 intervention (RR 2.81 (2.34, 3.37), p < 0.0001) compared to the comparison group. Overall, the monthly HMR rate increased from 0.2 per 1000 patients in November 2001 to 2.7 per 1000 patients in December 2012. Conclusion: Regular repetition of quality improvement messages has led to sustained increases in HMR uptake among Australian veterans over the last decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Delirium is a serious condition in which medications are just one of a number of potential predisposing or precipitating factors. Adequate knowledge of delirium among all healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, may assist in effective prevention and management. However, little is known about the knowledge of pharmacists regarding delirium. Aim: To assess Australian hospital pharmacists' knowledge of risk factors, symptoms, prevention and treatment of delirium in elderly patients. Method: A cross‐sectional survey was conducted via a web‐based questionnaire to collect information on participants' demographics, knowledge of delirium risk factors, symptoms, prevention and treatment. A link to the survey was included in the newsletters of The Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia, Australasian Delirium Association and New South Wales Therapeutic Advisory Group and distributed to hospital pharmacists in Australia via email. Results: One‐hundred and six responses from hospital pharmacists were available for analysis. Nine of 11 questions assessing basic knowledge were correctly answered by more than half of respondents. Seven of the eight questions related to delirium prevention strategies were correctly answered by more than half of pharmacists. However, only three of the eight questions about risk factors for delirium were answered correctly by more than half of pharmacists. Conclusion: Pharmacists' basic knowledge about delirium and prevention strategies was good; however, their knowledge of risk factors and symptoms of delirium needs to be improved. Delirium‐specific educational programs for pharmacists should be considered for improving their knowledge and understanding regarding delirium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]