Related Experiment Videos
Psychoactive medication use in intermediate-care facility residents.
M Beers1, J Avorn, S B Soumerai
1Program for the Analysis of Clinical Strategies, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115.
JAMA
|November 25, 1988
Summary
Nursing home residents are frequently prescribed multiple medications, including psychoactive drugs like antipsychotics and sedatives. Suboptimal medication choices and usage patterns are common, highlighting a need for improved geriatric psychopharmacology.
Area of Science:
- Geriatric Medicine
- Pharmacology
- Nursing Home Care
Background:
- Nursing home residents often have complex health needs and polypharmacy.
- Limited data exist on current medication use patterns in nursing home settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate medication use patterns in a representative sample of nursing home residents.
- To identify the prevalence of psychoactive medication use and assess the appropriateness of prescribing.
Main Methods:
- A prospective study of medication use among 850 residents in 12 intermediate-care facilities.
- Data collection included all prescriptions and actual medication use over one month.
Main Results:
- Residents were prescribed an average of 8.1 medications, receiving 4.7 daily.
- Over half received psychoactive medications, with 26% on antipsychotics and 28% on sedatives/hypnotics.
- Suboptimal drug choices (e.g., anticholinergic hypnotics, long-acting benzodiazepines, sedating antidepressants) were frequent.
Conclusions:
- Nursing home residents experience high exposure to psychoactive drugs, often with suboptimal selection and use.
- Current prescribing practices may not align with geriatric psychopharmacology principles.
- Further research is needed to evaluate the impact of these drug therapies and optimize medication management.