Senior care pharmacy profile: Grace Lawrence. Innovative services for assisted living, hospice, and the community.

Pharmacists can offer a variety of medication and consulting services to elderly people living in the community and in assisted living facilities. Such services may include reviewing drug therapy regimens to ensure that medications are appropriate, effective, and safe for a specific patient; determining whether a sign, symptom, syndrome, or decline in function is medication-related; and identifying medications that may cause or aggravate common geriatric problems. Pharmacists providing "senior care" services talk with patients and caregivers to pinpoint medication issues, work closely with nurses and aides at assisted living facilities, and communicate with physicians, social workers, and other members of the care team.