Pharmacists and medication management in senior care facilities in Portugal

Abstract

Population aging has changed society and is challenging health professionals. Institutionalization of the elderly is frequently the only alternative to safeguard their health and to ensure their quality of life. Chronic diseases, prevalent in these citizens, are mostly controllable with medicines. Medication management in senior care facilities must ensure that regulatory guidelines on the quality and effectiveness of medicinal products are ensured. Pharmacists as qualifi ed and legally acknowledged health professionals to perform these functions should be included in the multidisciplinary teams responsible for providing health care and well-being to the institutionalized elderly.