Potentially Harmful Drug-Disease Interactions in the Elderly – Potentially Harmful Drug-Disease Interactions in the Elderly: Assesses adults 65 and older who have a specific disease or condition (i.e., chronic renal failure, dementia, history of falls) and were dispensed a prescription for a medication that could exacerbate that condition.
Use of High-Risk Medications in the Elderly: Assesses adults 65 and older who received at least one high-risk medication or who received at least two different high-risk medications.
Prescription drug use by the elderly can often result in adverse drug events that contribute to hospitalization, increased duration of illness, nursing home placement, falls and fractures. Despite widely accepted medical consensus that certain drugs increase the risk of harm to the elderly, 1 these drugs continue to be prescribed. Because older adults are more likely to take multiple medications for multiple conditions, they are also at higher risk of potentially harmful drug-disease interactions. Avoiding the use of high-risk drugs is an important, simple and effective strategy in reducing medication-related problems and adverse drug events in older adults.2
Further reading –