Did you know? More than 1/3 of older Americans are prescribed drugs they may not need.
University of Buffalo researchers also found that these patients are prescribed twice as many drugs as needed, and are nearly twice as likely to be hospitalized or wind up in the emergency room. The most likely drugs to be inappropriately prescribed include Valium, NSAIDS, sulfonylureas like glyburide, and proton pump inhibitors.
Researchers surveyed 218 million older adults, and believe that the prescribing of potentially inappropriate medications can be linked to demand from patients and doctors' lack of awareness on medication effects with older adults.
So, if you take more than one medication, ask your doctor about the safety profile of the drugs they prescribe.