O papel do profissional farmacêutico na orientação e prevenção da automedicação em pacientes idosos

Abstract

The incorrect consumption of medications can cause adverse reactions and/or unwanted side effects in any age group, especially in the elderly. This study aims to emphasize the role of the pharmacist in the care of elderly patients, in terms of guidance and prevention of self-medication and identification of the best intervention, to improve these patients' adherence to treatment, without resistance, dosage errors, and drug interactions. The present work presents information collected through the Web of Science, Science Direct, SciFinder, Scielo, and Lilacs databases complemented by free web search. The terms self-medication, elderly and pharmaceutical care were researched both in Portuguese and in English. The results showed a high prevalence of self-medication in elderly patients, which ranged from 8.5 to 80.5%, aged between 60 and 70 years, most of them female. This study made it possible to highlight the importance of the role of the pharmacist in providing a better quality of life for elderly patients, as well as reducing unnecessary expenses with health services.