Required mandatory pills check for patients

Health insurance chief calls for pills checks

02/12/2014

Ingo Kailuweit, head of the Commercial Health Insurance (KKH), demands that patients taking multiple medicines should be required to have them regularly checked. For example, an independent institute could be tasked with this.

More than five drugs at the same time
In the future, patients taking more than five medicines at the same time should be required to have them checked regularly. This demanded the chairman of the commercial health insurance (KKH), Ingo Kailuweit, in the „Rheinische Post“. The head of the KKH justified this with the known high risk of changes and side effects in ongoing polypharmacy.

Older people suffer from polypharmacy
Polypharmacy is mentioned when more than five active pharmaceutical ingredients are used daily. According to the Arzneimittelreport 2013, this problem affects one third of all insured persons. Among the elderly, aged 80 to 94, half are affected. „On average, men over the age of 65 take 7.3 drugs daily, compared to 7.2 women in this age group“, said Barmer GEK last year. The reason for this oversupply is the fact that over 65-year-olds had an average of four doctors: a GP, an ophthalmologist, an orthopedist, a gynecologist in women and a urologist in men. They would each prescribe several medications.

Every eight seconds a medication error
„Especially, who has to take more than five drugs at the same time, often suffers from side effects and interactions. For this risk group, a mandatory pills check would be helpful“, so Kailuweit. „In Germany, it is estimated that every eight seconds a patient is affected by a medication error“, the KKH boss justified his demand. Patients in inpatient care are particularly affected.

Demand is more of a discussion contribution
According to Kailuweit, such tests could take over „an independent institute with pharmacological experts on drug safety.“ The head of the KKH also justified his initiative „Improvements for the insured and for the finances of the health insurance companies.“ He further said: „Benefiting would be first and foremost the patients, but also the solidary health care system, if fewer costs are incurred due to fewer secondary diseases.“ In the „German pharmacist newspaper“ It was said that the required medication check was more of a discussion contribution than a finished concept. (Sb)

Picture: Andrea Damm