How Classes of Medications Impact Falls

Effective fall prevention programs for older adults should include an analysis of multiple components when conducting a root cause analysis. Polypharmacy is significant factor to consider, as older adults often experience greater adverse effects of medications thanyounger people, due to their reduced kidney and liver function. This course will initially share the facts related to common reasons for resident falls and will then focus on one of those components; the effects of medications on older people and the specific classes known to influence a person's fall risk. Details will be shared regarding three types of medications, to include those which affect the brain and cognition ("psychoactives"), those which affect blood pressure and those which lower blood sugar. The interprofessional team member's communicationstrategies will then be shared for optimal person-centered fall risk reduction.

Highlights

• Immediately decrease your client's fall risk with an analysis of their specific medications, given the information for each drug class
• Discuss the risk vs. benefit analyseswith the resident's physician with information learned from this course

Target Audience: Physical Therapists, Physical Therapist Assistants, Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapy Assistants, Speech-Language Pathologists