Help for
Caregivers

Press Release -- August 15, 2005

SENIORS AND MEDICATIONS - A GROWING PROBLEM

Denver, CO. The Colorado Gerontological Society (CGS) is holding a round-table discussion on Senior Drug Compliance - The Problem Grows, Tuesday, September 13, 2005, from 7:30 am - 2:30 pm, at the Colorado Association of Health and Hospitals Conference Room, Suite 300, 7335 East Orchard Road, Greenwood Village, Colorado. Physicians, medical care givers, senior care givers, academia, key elected and appointed officials, pharmaceutical representatives, and other directors of related community organizations are invited. Media is also urged to attend.
This is the first time that such a forum has been held in Colorado. Interested stakeholders will openly discuss and identify the issues around seniors and how they take, or don't take their medications, potential solutions, and policy changes. Ultimately the goal is to identify common sense solutions to increase the correct use of medication by our senior citizens.
Even though literature and personal accounts have identified a disturbing problem regarding seniors - how, and if, they take their medicine correctly - the problem continues to grow. Taking medication incorrectly is as dangerous and costly as many illnesses. Studies have shown this problem leads to 10-25% of hospital and nursing home admissions. In the words of The New York Times, this has become the world's 'other drug problem'. The implications are serious, not only for the senior and their family, but also for those who understand the cost ramifications for society and 'pooled' private, or public money.