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Age and Ageing 2008 37(2):138-141; doi:10.1093/ageing/afm189
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Copyright © The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society.

Commentary

Inappropriate prescribing in the older population: need for new criteria

Denis O'Mahony and Paul Francis Gallagher

Department of Geriatric Medicine, Cork University Hospital, Wilton Cork 4, Ireland

Address correspondence to: Denis O'Mahony. Tel: (+35) 321 492 2396; Fax: (+35) 321 492 2829. Email: denis.omahony{at}mailp.hse.ie

Inappropriate prescribing (IP) is a common and serious global healthcare problem in elderly people, leading to increased risk of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), polypharmacy being the main risk factor for both IP and ADRs. IP in older people is highly prevalent but preventable; hence screening tools for IP have been devised, principally Beers' Criteria and the Inappropriate Prescribing in the Elderly Tool (IPET). Although Beers' Criteria have become the most widely cited IP criteria in the literature, nevertheless, they have serious deficiencies, including several drugs that are rarely prescribed nowadays, a lack of structure in the presentation of the criteria and omission of several important and common IP instances. New, more up-to-date, systems-based and easily applicable criteria are needed that can be applied in the routine clinical setting.

Keywords: inappropriate prescribing, drugs, elderly, screening

Received 15 July 2007; accepted in revised form 10 October 2007.


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