Half of older patients on inappropriate meds
2nd July 2013
More than half of older patients are taking at least one drug that could be doing them more harm than good, Australian research suggests.
An audit of 100 patients aged 65 and over found 54% had been prescribed a potentially inappropriate medication, either before or during their hospital admission, identified by the Screening Tool of Older Person's Prescriptions (STOPP).
Long-term opiates given to patients at risk of recurrent falls were the most common