Pharmacists can reduce elderly mishaps.

• Position: Medication - Brief article

When pharmacists are part of a patient's transition from hospital to home, medication-related emergencies decrease among those age 65 and older, saving millions of dollars more than the cost of the pharmacists annually, maintains a study from the University of Hawaii, Honolulu.

"Researchers [for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga.] have estimated that, across the U.S., adverse drug events cause nearly 100,000 emergency hospitalizations annually among patients who are 65 and older," says Karen L. Pellegrin, director of Continuing Education and Strategic Planning at the College of Pharmacy.

"We designed and implemented a pharmacist intervention to change those numbers and the results...