If you were born somewhere in, or between the years 1946 and 1964, consider yourself a baby boomer. As of 2016, the baby boomers within this country are between 52-70 years of age. Commonly, with age comes a list of secondary diagnosis. High blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, aching joints, etc. These are all things that have a risk of increasing as we age. As our baby boomers get older, more and more people within the 52-70 age range are being diagnosed with these issues and placed on multiple medications to help fix them. As we watch our baby boomers deal with these new medications, there lies the pitfalls of multiple medications, also known as polypharmacy. Fortunately, Pharmacogenetic Testing can help!
Senior Polypharmacy
As we talk about baby boomers aging, it’s important to get a real understanding of polypharmacy: the risk, the benefits, and the side effects. Polypharmacy is the act of taking five or more medications. This greatly increases your risk for those medications interacting and causing more problems for the actual patient. Couple medications used for medical conditions with all of the vitamins, herbs and supplements that our seniors are taking, and you can almost guarantee a problem in the future. Polypharmacy and medication misuse has recently become the fourth leading cause of death in this country. Let’s not let the cycle continue with our baby boomers.
Texas Lab Testing
At Pharmacogenetic Testing, we offer polypharmacy profile testing for patients that need to know and understand the interactions of their medications. Our Texas lab testing can successfully identify and determine drug interactions and help the clinician determine the best course of action for the patient. With a simple urinalysis, our team can screen for prescription drugs, over the counter drugs, and herbal supplements. We can help to identify if a patient is taking another drug prescribed by a different physician. All of our tests are comprehensive and can paint a clearer picture of why a patient is having a certain symptom. The goal is ultimately to save the lives of your patients with polypharmacy and prevent adverse effects.
Pharmacogenetic Testing is a state of the art Texas lab testing program that offers polypharmacy testing for clinics and hospitals around the country, and specifically Texas. For more information on polypharmacy testing for our baby boomers, call us today at (833) 749-5227.
