University at Buffalo Finds That 34 Percent of Older Adults Take Inappropriate Medication

University at Buffalo (UB) research in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that medication overprescribing by U.S. seniors is driving up hospitalizations and out-of-pocket costs, reports WBFO-FM . Out of 218 million older adults surveyed, 34 percent were prescribed at least one potentially inappropriate drug on the Beers Criteria. Seniors who were prescribed inappropriate medication were nearly twice as likely to be hospitalized or go to the emergency room, and more likely to visit a primary care physician. Researchers determined that these visits, in addition to the price of medications, cost older adults on average about $450 annually. UB Professor Collin Clark suggested doctors may decide to prescribe potentially dangerous medications to older adults because they see the benefit offsetting the risk, or they may not want to take someone off a medication if there have not been any negative side effects. Moreover, the Beers Criteria makes exceptions for certain medications, depending on a patient's condition, and the researchers did their best to factor these exceptions into their data calculations. UB Professor David Jacobs emphasized the importance of patients voicing their concerns about medication prescriptions.