Brown Paper Bag Assignment (latest)

Polypharmacy, disconnect between physicians, and use of over the counter medications including vitamins put a patient at risk for undesired effects or decreased efficacy of their drugs. Many lack the knowledge of what to be aware of when they are given the medications, so when adverse reactions arise they do not know to get it checked out. Therefore, it is important for a patient to verify with their physician any medication they are taking, and to be knowledgeable of any side effects that may occur. For this reason, a “brown bag” medication review can be done, which is when a patient brings in all his medications to the doctor or other healthcare provider and reviews them (Touhy & Jett, 2012). I met with G.M., a seventy-seven-year-old female, weighing about one hundred thirty pounds, and is approximately five feet tall. She lives with her eighty-one-year-old husband in a bilevel home in Monsey, New York. She is a matriarch of a large family. She has four siblings that she shares a close relationship with. She also has four children with whom she speaks to on a daily basis. Additionally, she has many grandchildren that visit and call her pretty often. She states, that although she is unemployed, she has many friends and is socially active by attending social functions several times throughout the year. She was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertension. Nonetheless, she is an independent woman, and does not require assistance with any of her daily activities, or with any house chores that she does. Due to her various diagnoses, G.M. was prescribed numerous medications. She was prescribed amlodipine, losartan, metoprolol, triamterene/hydrochlorothiazide, atorvastatin, digoxin, vitamin D3, and tums. She does not take any other vitamins or over the counter medications without the knowledge of her physician. She denies any allergies to any food or medications.