1. Characteristics of medications
a. Based on properties of the ideal drug:
i. Effectiveness: Why we take a certain drug to fix an issue in the body. Does the drug work for what we need to correct?
ii. Safety: the dru
...
1. Characteristics of medications
a. Based on properties of the ideal drug:
i. Effectiveness: Why we take a certain drug to fix an issue in the body. Does the drug work for what we need to correct?
ii. Safety: the drug cannot produce harmful adverse effects and be safe to use and not kill us.
iii. Selectivity: The drug elicits the only response for what it is given for. One thing only (i.e.: antihypertensive lowering BP but also lowering amount of acid in the stomach).
iv. Reversible action: is there an antidote available if something goes wrong. I.e.: naloxone given for opioid reversal.
v. Predictability: how it affects the body and exactly what occurs.
vi. Ease of administration: whether its PO, IV, IM, SC is it easy to make a mistake or hard to and causes extra pain, need of supplies, etc.
vii. Freedom of drug interactions: does the drug interact with other drugs or foods in certain ways that decrease its action or make it unsafe to use.
viii. Low cost: cheaper drugs will be easier for people to afford and maintain.
ix. Chemical Stability: is it stable and easy to store.
x. Simple generic name: some can be complicated and hard to pronounce. This is important so that people do not get confused with certain drugs. Generic= given by the government, Brand= company
b. NO DRUG IS IDEAL!!!!!
2. Properties of medicines to consider when prescribing to patients
a. Pharmacokinetics: how the drug moves its way through the body.
i. Absorption: movement of drug from site of administration to various tissues
1. Ex: PO med- intestines- liver (broken down)- blood; IV med: straight into blood stream, IM med: straight into the muscle and then to bloodstream.
ii. Distribution: movement of the drug throughout the blood to its site of action. If not enough blood or poor circulation, the medication cannot move well or work efficiently.
1. Ex: The PO med travels in the blood stream to the site of pain.
iii. Metabolism: the chemic
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