Potentially Inappropriate Medications in Geriatric Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Practical Software Solution for Healthcare Professionals

Geriatric patients represent a high-risk population that requires the simultaneous use of different medications. The use of medications in geriatric patients is associated with several potential problems caused by physiological changes in the ageing process as well as numerous comorbidities. Polytherapy increases the risk of prescribing potentially inappropriate medications (PIM). The treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), one of the most common chronic diseases, is often accompanied by the prescription of PIM. This paper aims to present the project in which the frequency of PIM prescribing in geriatric patients with T2DM in Sarajevo Canton will be estimated. Data will be collected from the E-medIT software of the Health Insurance Institute of Sarajevo Canton. The PIM will be identified using the following explicit criteria: Beers, STOPP/START, EU (7)-PIM List, and Comprehensive Croatian Protocol. The obtained results will enable the design of the most adequate criterion for PIM assessment applicable in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The PIM prescribing is a clinical and pharmacoeconomic problem for both patients and healthcare professionals, due to its effect on the occurrence of interactions, adverse effects, and hospitalizations, as well as the degree of morbidity and mortality, and healthcare costs. Thus, the introduction of the created criterion in daily clinical practice via an application for healthcare professionals would be an effective method of therapy optimization and reduction of the number of possible therapeutic problems. Avoiding PIM by using this application would contribute to positive treatment outcomes and overall therapy improvement for this population.