Background: Polypharmacy is common in people with intellectual disabilities. Using multiple medication may lead to unintended medication-related problems (MRPs). Medication review may serve as a tool to reduce MRPs. This systematic review assessed the scientific evidence for the effectiveness of medication reviews in identifying and reducing MRPs in people with intellectual disabilities.
Method: Literature databases were searched up to August 2017. Studies were selected that included the effect of medication reviews on identifying and/or reducing MRPs in people with intellectual disabilities with no restriction of type of medication, age and level of intellectual disabilities.
Results: The eight studies that fulfilled the inclusion criteria report that systematic medication reviews appear to assist in the identification and reduction of MRPs.
Conclusion: There is a lack of studies about the effect of medication reviews on identification and reduction of MRPs, especially health outcomes for people with intellectual disabilities. Further studies with long-term follow-up are needed.
Keywords: intellectual disabilities; mediation review; medication-related problems; polypharmacy.
© 2019 The Authors. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.