These findings suggest that pharmacy students and technicians are accurate, time efficient, decrease costs, and provide support to other health-care professionals when they are included in the medication reconciliation process.

Background: Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) patients who are hospitalized often develop oropharyngeal dysphagia, increasing risk for adverse outcomes, such as aspiration pneumonia. However, prevalence estimates of dysphagia are highly variable and often based on patient report or clinical testing rather than visualization of the swallow. Objective: The aims of this study were to determine prevalence and severity of dysphagia among inpatients with ADRD referred for swallowing evaluation. Methods: Electronic health record (EHR) abstraction of ADRD diagnosis and presence and severity of clinically-determined dysphagia on bedside swallow evaluation (BSE) and videofluoroscopic swallow study (VFSS). Results: 16% (n = 268) had an ADRD diagnosis or were taking dementia-specific medication based on the EHR. 75% (n = 202) were diagnosed with dysphagia on the BSE. 60% subsequently underwent VFSS (n = 122) with dysphagia confirmation in 92% (n = 112). ADRD inpatients were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with dysphagia based on the BSE (p <  0.0001) than those without ADRD. Additionally, dysphagia on the VFSS was more severe in the ADRD group (p <  0.03). Discussion: ADRD individuals may be vulnerable to developing or worsening dysphagia during hospitalization. Results underscore the importance of evaluating swallowing function in hospitalized patients with ADRD in order to facilitate targeted intervention.

We selected 5 positive questioners and gave them one point each. GHS Using LAD together with the quality of life in late-stage dementia scale (QUALID) GDS and GHS, we surveyed how patients feel by themselves and how their caregivers regard them. Results: The cohort consisted with 286 patients (Age; 80.067.2). LAD score was 13.562.3, QUALID was 17.2617.2, GDS was 4.863.1and GHS was 3.661.0, respectively. The ratios of YES for "Are you basically satisfied with your life?", "Are you in good spirits most of the time?", "Do you feel happy most of the time?", "Do you think it is wonderful to be alive now?" and "Do you feel full of energy?" were 91.2, 89.0, 90.0, 84.8, 50.6, respectively. Conclusions: Patients with dementia as well as their caregivers had fairly positive thoughts, which is courageous for us because it suggests that it should be possible to keep their QOL in good shape. The study is supported by National Hospital Organization as "Large scale clinical research to promote evidence based medicine" and is cooperated with the team for NHODR study.

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Research staff identify eligible inpatients in the electronic medical record (EMR) Research staff gather initial information about capacity, health status, discharge disposition, and caregiver in the EMR Approach the patient and caregiver in the hospital with the inpatient nursing partner Adjust physical environment to facilitate communication with patients Research staff describe the study, determine eligibility, and enroll the patient if appropriate Frequent communication between research staff and inpatient nursing partners both in person and over telephone Tools and technologies EMR Concise study scripts Cellular phones to facilitate communication between the research team, inpatient nursing partners and participants (as needed) Tablet computers used by research staff to access study scripts and study databases for real-time data entry Organization Health system support for recruitment activities in the hospital Research team granted access to the EMR Research team meetings to address recruitment facilitators and barriers, and to evaluate recruitment data Flexible scheduling to accommodate rapidly changing inpatient environment Physical environment Patient comfortable in hospital bed or seated in chair Research staff and inpatient nursing partners positioned to make eye contact and engage with patients appropriately Adjust lighting in the hospital room Close hospital room door for privacy and noise reduction Mute or turn off television Ensure patient has access to hearing aids, glasses, and other assistive devices