Highlights From the 2019 AGS Beers Criteria^® Updates

OBJECTIVE: To compare the 2015 and 2019 AGS Beers Criteria^® of potentially inappropriate medications in the elderly.
DATA SOURCES: American Geriatrics Society 2015 and 2019 Updated AGS Beers Criteria^® for Potentially Inappropriate Medication (PIM) Use in Older Adults published literature.
STUDY SELECTION/DATA EXTRACTION: The literature was reviewed, compared, and summarized to identify pertinent changes and updates to the AGS Beers Criteria of PIMs in the elderly.
DATA SYNTHESIS: The AGS Beers Criteria^® contains a list of potentially inappropriate medications that should be used with caution, avoided, notable drug-drug interactions, and drugs that should be dose-adjusted based on kidney function in the older adult. The updated AGS Beers Criteria^® also includes removal of medications that are no longer sold in the United States, have a low usage rate, provide low evidence of harm, and/or the potential harm is not unique to the older adult.
CONCLUSION: The AGS Beers Criteria^® is intended to improve and optimize the care of the geriatric population. It serves as a guide to minimize older adults' exposure to PIMs whenever possible. As with previously published updates to the AGS Beers Criteria^®, the 2019 update outlines the following: recommendations, rationale, and quality of the recommendations, as well as the strength of the recommendations.