My guest today is Donna Bartlett, PharmD. We’re discussing her book MedStrong: Shed Your Meds for a Better, Healthier You – Aging Well Through Deprescribing. This is part 11 of 15 in my Pharmacist Authors Summer Series. If you’re a pharmacist or pharmacy student who is interested in deprescribing or a professor at a school of pharmacy, you need to listen to this interview!
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Bio (2023)
Dr. Donna Bartlett is a Board Certified Geriatric Pharmacist licensed in Massachusetts. She received her BS in Pharmacy and her Doctor of Pharmacy degrees at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences University-Boston. Currently, Dr. Bartlett is an Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences University, and oversees an internal medicine clinical site at HealthAlliance Hospital in Leominster, MA. Dr. Bartlett has over 15 years’ experience as a clinical pharmacist and over 20 years of retail experience. Education expertise and areas of interest includes polypharmacy, deprescribing, geriatrics, medication access and affordability, falls prevention, adherence, and community outreach. Dr. Bartlett hosts podcasts for the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists- The Senior Care Pharmacist Podcast and hosts her own website dedicated to deprescribing https://donnabartlett.com. She presented at the first International Deprescribing Conference in Denmark in the Fall of 2022. She is the author of MedStrong: Shed Your Meds for a Better, Healthier You-Aging Well through Deprescribing.
Highlights from our interview
Donna Bartlett, PharmD is a subject matter expert on deprescribing and medication use in older adults. MedStrong is about reducing unnecessary and inappropriate medications, especially in older adults. MedStrong is also about advocating for appropriate medication use, whether the advocate is a patient or a caregiver.
Education about deprescribing is paired with a 5-step a five step medication optimization plan in the book. #deprescribetooptimize
The synopsis of the book (below👇🏻) does a great job explaining:
📚 What the book is about
📚 Why Dr. Bartlett wrote it
📚 Her target audience
During the interview, Donna read a section called “Changing the Culture” from the Chapter titled, “Deprescribing in a Prescribing World.”
Donna wants her readers to share the information in the book. If readers don’t need it, they should share it with others who may benefit. She wants people to ask, “Do I still need this?” “Is this important?” Most of all, she wants patients and providers to feel comfortable having conversations about deprescribing.
Donna shared a story about a patient’s caregiver (daughter). She felt confident she was filling her Mom’s pillbox with the right medications after Donna reviewed the meds.
MedStrong is sold on Amazon, https://donnabartlett.com, and Ingram Spark. Indie bookstores should also be able to order a copy for you if you prefer. In my opinion, every college of pharmacy in the US should carry a copy in their reference library too.
This summer, Donna may narrate the audiobook version of Medstrong. Follow her on social media and connect via LinkedIn to keep in touch, so you can hear about important announcements from Dr. Donna Bartlett.
Book Synopsis ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
MedStrong: Shed Your Meds for a Better, Healthier You – Aging Well Through Deprescribing tells of the need to keep medications in check throughout the aging process. Why is this necessary? Overmedication increases side effects that can impact one’s well-being and quality of life, and can cause unintended consequences such as falls, hospitalizations, and traffic accidents. Many individuals remain on medications far longer than necessary, and have medications added when deprescribing a medication may be a better treatment option. Our bodies change from adult to older adult years, our ability to metabolize and eliminate medications also changes causing potential adverse events. Through patient scenarios, templates, and medical literature MedStrong educates patients, caregivers, and those interested in working with older adults, on polypharmacy, deprescribing, and how to overcome the barriers that stop sound deprescribing in its tracks before the fall, accident, injury, or toxicity occurs.
There are over 70 million baby boomers in the United States. By 2030 all baby boomers will be 65 years or older. Over one-third of older adults take five or more medications with one or more medications being considered unnecessary or inappropriate. With these statistics it is not surprising that approximately 2 million adverse drug events require hospitalizations each year.
Board certified geriatric pharmacist, Dr. Donna Bartlett, with her keen approach to medication therapy management and deprescribing, lends her experience of over 25 years of pharmacy practice, including retail, outreach, hospital, and academia. Let her take you through the process of deprescribing to optimize your medications.
Target Audience:
The target audience includes adult health care consumers, older adults, caregivers, and those that work with older adults. Health care providers of all disciplines may also find this book helpful in learning and speaking with patients about deprescribing.
Links from this episode
MedStrong: Shed Your Meds for a Better, Healthier You – Aging Well Through Deprescribing https://amzn.to/3pIiYBb
Websites https://donnabartlett.com, https://wellhoodpublishing.com
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/donna-bartlett-pharmd
Twitter @DonnaBartlett1
Instagram @donnabartlett_pharmd
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Dates, authors, and book titles in the Pharmacist Authors Series
(Part 1 of 15) June 5, Introduction to the Pharmacist Authors Series (Episode 220)
(Part 2 of 15) June 9, The Pharmacist’s Voice ® Podcast Episode 221: Interview with Salam Kabbani, PharmD about her book: COVID Long-Hauler: My Life Since COVID
(Part 3 of 15) June 12, The Pharmacist’s Voice ® Podcast Episode 222: Interview with audio engineer Julie Walthers from Whole Story Studio: https://www.wholestorystudio.com/
(Part 4 of 15) June 16, The Pharmacist’s Voice ® Podcast Episode 223 Interview with Erin L. Albert, PharmD on her book The Life Science Lawyer
Part 5 of 15) June 19, The Pharmacist’s Voice ® Podcast Episode 224 Interview with Sue Ojageer, PharmD on her children’s book The Pharma Heroes: The Power of Precision Medicine
(Part 6 of 15) June 23, The Pharmacist’s Voice ® Podcast Episode 225: Interview with Tony Guerra, PharmD about his Pharmacist Residency and Career Series (8 books)
(Part 7 of 15) June 26, The Pharmacist’s Voice ® Podcast Episode 226: Interview with Christina Fontana, PharmD about her book Moving Beyond the Counter: Elevating into Heart-Centered Health Care through Entrepreneurship
(Part 8 of 15) June 30, The Pharmacist’s Voice ® Podcast Episode 227: Interview with Jade L. Ranger, PharmD, about her book Mustard Seed Mentality: Unscripted Pearls of Wisdom from a Wife, Mother, and Entrepreneur
(Part 9 of 15) July 7, The Pharmacist’s Voice ® Podcast Episode 229: Interview with RDML Pam Schweitzer, PharmD and her daughter Amy Graves about their children’s book Alice and Jack Hike the Grand Canyon
(Part 10 of 15) July 10, The Pharmacist’s Voice ® Podcast Episode 230: Interview with Cory Jenks, PharmD about his book Permission to Care: Building a Healthcare Culture That Thrives in Chaos
(Part 11 of 15) July 14, Interview with Donna Bartlett, PharmD about her book MedStrong: Shed Your Meds for a Better, Healthier You – Aging Well Through Deprescribing
(Part 12 of 15) July 17, Interview with Frieda Wiley, PharmD about her book Telecommuting Psychosis: From Surviving to Thriving While Working in Your Pajama Pants. Plus, we touch on her 3 children’s books in development.
(Part 13 of 15) July 21, Interview with Tim Ulbrich, PharmD about his book Seven Figure Pharmacist: How to Maximize Your Income, Eliminate Debt, and Create Wealth
(Part 14 of 15) July 24, Interview with LaQuoia Johnson, PharmD about her book How Rxacism Manifests Inside the Small World of Pharmacy
(Part 15 of 15) July 28, Pharmacist Authors Series wrap-up (solo show)
Thank you for listening to episode 231 of The Pharmacist’s Voice ® Podcast! If you know someone who would like this episode, please share it with them!