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Review
. 2018 Feb;34(1):39-54.
doi: 10.1016/j.cger.2017.09.003. Epub 2017 Oct 14.

Screening for Medication Appropriateness in Older Adults

Andrew R Zullo  1 , Shelly L Gray  2 , Holly M Holmes  3 , Zachary A Marcum  4
Affiliations
Review

Screening for Medication Appropriateness in Older Adults

Andrew R Zullo et al. Clin Geriatr Med. 2018 Feb.

Abstract

Older adults are at high risk for inappropriate medication use given their myriad medical conditions and medications. Screening efforts may seem overwhelming, but starting with a focused approach and leveraging a team-based strategy can help practicing clinicians gain initial momentum. Future research is needed to strengthen the evidence base for medication use in older adults and to elucidate effective and scalable interventions to improve medication safety.

Keywords: Deprescribing; Elderly; Geriatrics; Inappropriate prescribing; Polypharmacy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure Statement: Drs A.R. Zullo and Z.A. Marcum are supported by awards from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (5K12HS022998 and 5K12HS022982). Dr H.M. Holmes is supported by a grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (RP160674). Dr S.L. Gray is supported by awards from the National Institute on Aging (AG006781 and AG045050–03S1). The authors have no other relevant conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Adoption of appropriate medication use screening in the elderly. (Adapted from IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics. Patient adoption of mhealth: use, evidence and remaining barriers of mainstream acceptance 2015)
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Potential application of statistical pattern learning algorithms to medication appropriateness screening. (Courtesy of Thomas Trikalinos, MD, PhD, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI; adapted with permission.)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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