LESS, RATHER THAN MORE, MEDICATION Can Mean Better Quality of Life and Longer Life
The true story of Mr. “B”
Mr. “B” was a 72-year-old man on hemodialysis, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Dementia. With his family’s consent and declared preferences, six of his ten prescribed medications were stopped. Dramatic improvement was evident within two weeks, with sharply increased cognitive and functional improvement. On a mini-mental cognitive score evaluation given at the beginning his score was 14/30; following cessation of the medications he attained a score of 30/30 – normal. He was able to return to active community life and underwent a kidney transplant a year later.
When medication becomes the illness …
The phenomena, known as polypharmacy, of senior citizens being caught in a web of consuming vast amounts of medications, prescribed over the years by various physicians, is well-known both to the patient’s family members and among the medical community.
Seniors, with decreased drug elimination, are especially sensitive to medications and unable to tolerate the usual doses, causing drug accumulation that result in drug overload or toxicity.
Overmedication causes physical, emotional and cognitive (such as confusion and memory loss) harm to patients. Yet another aspect is the financial hardship – senior citizens are the largest pharmaceutical consumer group, spending huge sums of money on medication, at times having to choose between food and other basic needs .
“The Garfinkel Method” – Every additional drug reduces benefits (more is less!)
Dr. Doron Garfinkel developed his ‘Method’ after having researched and proven that supervised reduction of medications, based on a person’s individual status, can significantly benefit patients’ health.
His research demonstrated that nine out of every ten medications prescribed for patients hospitalized in long-term nursing departments were unnecessary. The most dramatic effect of Dr. Garfinkel’s method on these patients was the substantial reduction in mortality, morbidity and number of hospitalizations.
The ‘Method’ has also been tested on seniors living in their own communities, with impressive results. Medications which are not life-saving, may often, for the majority of seniors, be discontinued and or reduced, without risk or adverse effects, resulting in a significant improvement in the quality of life of these people.
The innovative Garfinkel Method is being presented in international conferences and published in prestigious medical and pharmaceutical journals and continues to gain worldwide recognition.