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Assessment of Dependence in Activities of Daily Living Among Older Patients in an Acute Care Unit
Published on: September 30, 2020
Health outcomes associated with potentially inappropriate medication use in older adults
Donna M Fick1, Lorraine C Mion, Mark H Beers
1School of Nursing, 307C Health & Human Development East, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medication use (PIMs) among community-dwelling older adults and the association between PIMs and health care outcomes. Participants were 17,971 individuals age 65 years and older. PIM use was defined by the Beers criteria. Drug-related problems (DRPs) were defined using ICD-9 codes. Forty percent of the 17,971 individuals filled at least 1 PIM prescription, and 13% filled 2 or more PIM prescriptions. Overall DRP prevalence among those with at least 1 PIM prescription was 14.3% compared to 4.7% in the non-PIM group (p < .001). In conclusion, preventing PIM use may be important for decreasing medication-related problems, which are increasingly being recognized as requiring an integrated interdisciplinary approach.
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