Aging is defined, in chronological context, as being over 60 years in developing countries like Brazil and over 65 in developed countries. Studies show that, in absolute terms, Brazil will become the 6th country with the largest elderly population in the world by 2025. This finding is worrying when you realize that health professionals are not prepared to meet this demand. Elderly people are the ones who have higher number of diagnoses and use of drugs, so the possibility of the emergence of problems related to drugs is higher when compared to that of young people. Therefore, there is a need for professionals with knowledge about the physiological and pharmacological changes that occur in the elderly as well as on the use of medicines by this group in order to evaluate the therapy prescribed and, when necessary, suggest changes to optimize the treatment. The pharmacist can be this professional. This paper presents a review of some tools for evaluation of pharmacotherapy of the elderly and provides them for professionals, that can use them while monitoring these patients.
Geriatrics; Drug therapy; Tools of assessment