How is this helpful to me? I already have a primary care provider

Great Question! First of all, I am not filling the position of your primary care provider. I am helping your primary care provider (PCP). In our current health care model, PCP's are overwhelmed seeing volumes of patients daily, rushed at almost every visit to stay on schedule. They are not given the time to do a comprehensive medication review with all the other tasks in a short, 10 minute office visit. They also may not have the experience with a geriatric patient who has multiple chronic diseases, geriatric syndromes and a medication list 15+ medications long. 

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I am specialized in geriatric medicine and so, I can provide a great deal of insight into your symptoms and your medication profile. Over my many years in geriatric medicine practice, my perspective has changed. I use to feel that medications could do no wrong. My present day perspective, formed by years of experience, is that medications can do a LOT of wrong. We need to make sure you are on the right medications and not the harmful agents!

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I have seen many patients suffering from side effects of medications that they thought were just "normal" parts of aging.

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Side effects of medications can include but are not limited to falls, weakness, weight loss, poor appetite, sleep disturbance, dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, diarrhea, brain fog, poor balance, etc.  I've had patients admitted that were flat out failing at home, not eating, losing weight, confused, not taking care of themselves and falling down. Fast forward weeks later, with medication adjustments, that same person is markedly improved. Now that said, this does not happen all the time. Sometimes the cause is the progressive disease process, an acute medical condition, or just failure of the body as we become older and more frail. There are also many medications that are not recommended for patients over the age of 65, but unfortunately, many of those medications are used when they shouldn't be.

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Our healthcare system is not perfect, not even close.

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As you know, there is never enough time when you go to see your primary care provider, especially if your health conditions are complex and you take many medications. They also are not likely trained in geriatrics and may not know they are prescribing you high risk medications. Also, most office visits are focused on a single problem you made the appointment for, rarely is there time to review your medications in any depth to make sure they are still indicated for you. Many patients over the age of 65 have compiled a long list of medications, I can provide recommendations on how to shorten that list. Some patients may be experiencing a number of adverse side effect symptoms from their medications. ​​

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With my experience and expertise, I can make recommendations for changing to a safer medication option that may alleviate the side effects. These changes are not made by me, these are only recommendations that I will send to you, so you are educated and can discuss them with your primary care provider at your next appointment.