Inappropriate Prescribing for Elderly Americans in a Large Outpatient Population

Abstract

The common use of potentially inappropriate drugs should serve as a reminder to monitor their use closely. Pharmaceutical claims databases can be important tools for accomplishing this task, though clinical and laboratory data are needed to improve the sensitivity and specificity of patient-specific alerts.

Assessing Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing in the Elderly Veterans Affairs Population Using the HEDIS 2006 Quality Measure

“…5 Kaufman et al 37 examined PIPE using a limited number of Zhan-criteria drugs ("always avoid" drugs and selected other drugs based on usage patterns within that health maintenance organization [HMO]). They found lower rates of PIPE-approximately 5% before prescriber intervention and 2% after prescriber intervention-than found in this and other studies.…”

An Electronic Medical Record (EMR)-Based Intervention to Reduce Polypharmacy and Falls in an Ambulatory Rural Elderly Population

“…Falls lead to fractures, functional disability, and even death. Polypharmacy in the elderly is a common phenomenon, with estimates that more than 20% of elderly persons are taking medications with the potential for serious adverse effects, including an increased risk for falls 2 . The number of prescribed drugs has been found to be significant 3,4 , with total medications of 4 or greater as an independent risk factor for falls in other studies 5,6 .…”

Combined intervention programme reduces inappropriate prescribing in elderly patients exposed to polypharmacy in primary care

“…The scale of the problem is difficult to assess due to limitations associated with the selection of a standard and publication bias [16][17][18]. Improving medication use would have important financial and public health benefits, and many attempts have been made to find methods of improving the quality of prescribing in various settings [19][20][21].…”