How can common medication errors in elderly patients be avoided?
Persons aged 65 years or older make up 14% of the population and take more than 30% of prescription drugs.1 Adverse drug reactions are responsible for 5% to 28% of acute geriatric hospital admissions and occur in 35% of community-dwelling elders. The use of multiple medications is associated with a higher likelihood of drug-drug interactions and adverse drug reactions.2 Moreover, there is an increased risk of adverse drug reactions in elderly persons because of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic changes related to aging.3 A recent review concluded that polypharmacy continues to be a significant problem and that little research has been conducted on the methods primary care clinicians use to assess polypharmacy.4 ASSISTANCE FOR CLINICIANS ACOVE quality indicators. One of the largest systematic attempts to prevent adverse drug events in older persons is the Assessing Care of Vulnerable Elders (ACOVE) quality indicators for appropriate medical care, which were developed by Pfizer, Inc, a
