title: Monitoring: to infinity and beyond!
abstract: BACKGROUND
  For many patients, the initial prescription is only the beginning of the prescribing process, with the prescription needing to be repeated, sometimes for the life of the patient.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This article discusses the factors to consider when reviewing a patient for a repeat prescription and some approaches to long term pharmacotherapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  When writing repeat prescriptions it is important to take time to consider the physiological changes of aging, emergence of new contraindications in the patient, emergence of new evidence regarding drug therapy, and whether it is appropriate to consider drug withdrawal. The role of the pharmacist in the prescribing process, particularly in performing home medicine reviews, is also briefly discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Royal Adelaide Hospital, University of Adelaide, South Australia. sshakib@mail.rah.sa.gov.au
authors.forename: Sepehr
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shakib
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: George
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D005194:Family Practice / Q000379:methods*; D006792:House Calls; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008657:Metabolic Clearance Rate; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010604:Pharmacy / Q000379:methods