The elderly population is one of the fastest growing segments of the American population. Nevertheless, there is a shortage of clinicians who are specifically trained to identify and treat the problems associated with advancing age. As a result, predictable deteriorations in renal function, increasing drug-utilization over time and susceptibility to age-related illnesses all serve to threaten the health of many elderly Americans. The Geriatric Service of MediSource is a comprehensive computerized product that addresses the informational needs of clinicians who care for elderly patients. The Geriatric Service specifically offers age-specific recommendations for preventative care, and tools to provide audits for those medication-related hazards that mist commonly affect elderly patients. The intent of the Geriatric Service is not to expand the content of existing applications, but to create a fundamentally new approach to the management of the elderly patient. We believe that integrated clinical information services like those offered by Multum are rapidly becoming the standard of care for pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions and hope to improve dramatically the care rendered to elderly patients with this proposed Geriatric Service.
The Geriatric Service of MediSource has the potential to become the standard of care throughout the health care industry for patient-specific drug information. The Geriatric Service can be used by clinicians in ambulatory, inpatient, educational, and research settings for current, concise, and patient-specific information related to drug selection, dosing, and monitoring.
