College of Pharmacy in collaboration with Thumbay University Hospital’s Clinical Pharmacy Department delivered a 2-day course on Polypharmacy to the Emirates Health Services Home Care Project Physicians on October 31, and November 1, 2022. The participants were physicians providing care to elderly patients in the Northern Emirates of Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah.
The course was structured to deliver following contents by the experienced faculty who are Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist Clinical Pharmacy practitioners and academicians.
- Physiological changes of aging in terms of pharmacokinetics
- Causes and Consequences of polypharmacy in Elderly
- Tools used for the identification/prevention/management of polypharmacy in Elderly
(START-STOPP/Beers/ARMOR/Choosing Wisely criteria) - Deprescribing in elderly
- Factors to consider while discontinuing medications in elderly
- Simulated Case Discussion on polypharmacy
- Case discussions on polypharmacy to identify and plan discontinuation of medications in collaboration.
The course faculty were:
- Shabaz Mohiuddin Gulam, PharmD, BCIDP, RClinPh
- Seeba Zachariah, PhD, BCPS, BCCP, ClinPh
- Ahmad El-Ouweini, PharmD, BCPS, RClinPh
- Madiha Mukhtar, PharmD, MCP, BCPS, RPh
Dr. Fatima Al Meleh, Project Manager of Elderly Care at the Primary Health Care Department EHS has thanked the faculty for their efforts in designing and delivering this structured and interactive program to enhance their pharmacotherapeutic competencies in the care of geriatric patients.
Dr. Sherief Khalifa, Dean, College of Pharmacy commented: “The College of Pharmacy is continuously working towards achieving its mission of advancing healthcare in the UAE with focus on patient safety as it relates to drug therapy. Bringing together academia and clinical practice and joining hands with Emirates Health Services is a great example of how collaboration can make positive impact on the health of the citizens and residents of the UAE”.
