Wahler and Monte part of multidisciplinary team that receive IMPACT grant

The grant supports a multidisciplinary proposal titled “Collaborative Drug Safety Management with Frail Elders and Caregivers for Successful Aging." The project, led by Ranjit Singh, MD, MBA, Associate Professor of Family Medicine, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and Director, Primary Care Research Institute, Department of Family Medicine, was chosen because of its focus on interdisciplinary and multi-thematic projects in new areas of research.

Medication harm is a major challenge for frail elders. Potentially inappropriate medications harm older adults, yet literature shows that they are used at very high rates. The objective of the study is to pilot-test the translation of known medication safety evidence into primary care for frail elders through system-based interventions, including integrating pharmacist consultation into primary care (Collaborative Practice), patient/caregiver hard stop tools (Empowerment for Successful Aging), and implementing electronic systems (Health System Alerts) to disseminate patient-specific information across the system to de-prescribe harmful drugs.

Additional members of the multidisciplinary pilot study team include:

• Christine Verni, ED, FNP-BC, RN, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• Susan LaValley, MS, MLS, MA, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• Bruce R. Troen, MD , Professor of Medicine and Chief, Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Department of Medicine; Director of the Center for Successful Aging, Co-Director of the Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• Danielle N Pelfrey Duryea, JD, Clinical Visiting Assistant Professor, Assistant Dean for Interprofessional Education and Health Law Initiatives, School of Law