A new study, published online August 9 in Archives of Internal Medicine, analyzes data from more than three years of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s new CPOE program that provided warnings to health care workers ordering potentially harmful medicine for patients 65 years or older.

Some 60 percent of adverse drug events are initiated during the ordering step (as opposed to during administration), so minimizing poorly chosen drugs could go a long way in reducing these common medical errors, which occur during up to 40 percent of hospital stays, according to the paper.

via Observations: Seniors face lower risk of dangerous prescriptions with computerized hospital Rx system.

Talia Schultz of San Francisco, who has autism and few words to tell people what’s wrong, was rushed to the ER with an infected gallbladder. Her sister Sarah, who had assumed 40-year-old Talia’s care a month before after their mother’s death, felt terrible.”I had no idea she was so sick!” she said.

Talia developed complications during an emergency gallbladder surgery, resulting in a more extensive surgery and a longer, very expensive, hospital stay.

“People with autism often don’t have typical pain behavior like grimacing or clutching their stomach,” says Dr. Clarissa Kripke, Director, Developmental Primary Care, Department of Family and Community Medicine at UCSF, “so it can be hard for others to recognize.”

Dr. Kripke sees situations like Talia’s at least daily.As children, the developmentally disabled can usually depend on parents and pediatricians to be their medical advocates. Yet when they grow into adulthood, there are few experienced physicians and other trained health care providers to take care of them. And there’s no system to ensure their care as their aging parents can no longer advocate for them.

via City Brights: Laura Shumaker : Autism: Healthcare beyond pediatrics.

Is the patient in pain or not, and should I call the doctor? What, exactly, is paining, and how much? Did the patient’s pain reduce with the medication? If the doctor offers a choice, should antibiotics be given or not, if the patient may not benefit from them? How aggressive and invasive should treatment be? Should the patient be hospitalized?

My current phase of caregiving may require tough decisions that my mother can no longer participate in, as she just does not understand anything.

via Decision making for dementia patients « Swapna writes….

via Alzheimer’s Reading Room: Pneumonia and Influenza Flu Hospitalizations in Elderly People with Dementia.

Research indicates that seniors are at an increased risk for experiencing complications both during and after surgery. In an effort to ensure that senior patients have the best possible outcome, the American Society of Anesthesiologists ASA has developed a set of tips to help prepare senior citizens and their caregivers for surgery.

via American Society Of Anesthesiologists Offers Tips To Help Seniors And Their Caregivers Prepare For Surgery.