Effectiveness of medication counseling and reconciliation on improving patient outcomes in geriatric patients with polypharmacy

Background The increasing lifespan has led to more elderly people with chronic diseases requiring multiple medications (Polypharmacy), which can lead to medication-related problems such as drug interactions, adverse drug reactions, nonadherence, and a subsequent decrease in the quality of life (QoL). Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of medication counseling and reconciliation in improving medication adherence and QoL among patients with polypharmacy. Patients and methods A pre-postintervention study was conducted on 150 patients aged 65 years or older, who were treated with five or more medications. Baseline measures of BMI, blood pressure, glycosylated hemoglobin, total cholesterol, estimated glomerular filtration rate, medication adherence, and QoL were assessed. All participants received tailored medication counseling and reconciliation intervention focusing on medication knowledge, understanding, adherence strategies, and patient safety. Results The results demonstrated significant improvements in blood pressure; baseline mean value for systole 128.72 ± 17.86 decreased to mean value 120.96 ± 12.58 postintervention (P = 0.00), baseline mean diastole value 81.80 ± 11.00 reduced to 77.56 ± 8.88 postintervention (P = 0.00), glycosylated hemoglobin baseline mean value 8.20 ± 2.52 decreased to 7.59 ± 2.01 (P = 0.00), and a notable increase in medication adherence scores (0–8) among participants with a preintervention mean value of 5.85 ± 2.24 with scores ranging between 0.25 and 8.00 and postintervention scores mean value (7.12 ± 1.15) with scores ranging between 3.00 and 8.00. QoL (scores 0–70) improved significantly after the intervention (P = 0.00) with a baseline mean value of 2.57 ± 0.92 and the postintervention mean value of 2.30 ± 0.96. Conclusions The study highlights the effectiveness of medication counseling and reconciliation in improving medication adherence and the QoL of elderly patients on polypharmacy, leading to better outcomes. Future research should explore long-term effects and adherence maintenance strategies.