UMEM Educational Pearls

Category: Geriatrics

Title: Inappropriate Medications - Submitted by Jill Logan, PharmD, BCPS

Keywords: Beers list, iatrogenic, medications, pharmacology (PubMed Search)

Posted: 3/5/2017 by Danya Khoujah, MBBS
Click here to contact Danya Khoujah, MBBS

The Beers' Criteria lists 34 classes of medications that may be potentially inappropriate for geriatric patients due to a high risk of complications including increased risk for falls. When prescribing medications from the emergency department in geriatric patients, try to avoid these categories if other options are available.

http://www.americangeriatrics.org/files/documents/beers/BeersCriteriaPublicTranslation.pdf

References

The AGS Foundation for Health in Aging. Identifying Medications that Older Adults Should Avoid or Use with Caution: the 2012 American Geriatrics Society Updated Beers Criteria. 2012. Retrieved on March 5th, 2017 from: http://www.americangeriatrics.org/files/documents/beers/BeersCriteriaPublicTranslation.pdf