Seniors getting risky drugs

[Guest guest]

All psychiatric drugs, go figure......

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/living/9529922.htm

Posted on Sun, Aug. 29, 2004

Seniors getting risky drugs

Researchers show older people can’t metabolize some medicines

By Reitman

Los Angeles Times

Many older Americans are getting prescription drugs that could be particularly

dangerous for them.

In a large study of prescription claims filed for reimbursement, Duke University

researchers found that about 21 percent of elderly patients had filled

prescriptions for drugs that are known to cause harm or induce harmful side

effects in those older than 65. They include antidepressants, painkillers such

as Demerol, and sedatives such as Valium.

More than 15 percent of patients had filled prescriptions for two of the

potentially harmful drugs and 4 percent had gotten three or more, according to

the study, published in the August issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The findings indicate “a significant failure in the American health care

system,” wrote Dr. Knight Steel, chief of geriatrics at Hackensack University

Medical Center, in an editorial accompanying the analysis of 765,423 claims by

elderly patients. Even if the study had turned up half as many hazardous

prescriptions, he wrote, it would still be “shocking and warrants immediate and

thoughtful action.”

The study underscores the need for more vigilance by physicians about the drugs

they are prescribing to elderly people, whose organs don’t metabolize or excrete

drugs as quickly as those of younger people.

The hazards are compounded when taking multiple drugs that might not interact

well together.

Although the study was done with data from 1999, lead researcher Lesley H.

Curtis says the problem has not likely improved in recent years because other

studies have turned up similar findings.

Steel said in an interview that he thinks the danger is probably far greater

than the study suggests. Older adults take many drugs, and the study didn’t

consider the drugs administered at nursing homes and hospitals, which, he wrote,

“are known to have a high prevalence of inappropriate prescriptions.”

For instance, he noted that meperidine (the generic name for the painkiller

Demerol) is widely prescribed, though it relieves pain only for a few hours and

remains in the system for about a day, potentially causing seizures and

confusion.

The reasons for the problem, say the authors and other experts, include the fact

that physicians generally take only one course in pharmacology, receiving much

of their information about drugs from pharmaceutical company representatives.

Although the potential hazards of each drug are outlined in the 3,000-page

“Physicians Desk Reference,” physicians have so much to keep up with between

drug interactions and patients’ conditions, they are often overwhelmed. The most

commonly prescribed of the potentially harmful medications are psychotropic

drugs, including tricyclic antidepressants (amitriptyline, Doxepin), painkillers

and sedatives. Among the more commonly known drugs are Valium (generic name

diazepam) and Librium (chlordiazepoxide clidinium). Other drugs considered less

dangerous but still potentially harmful are the pain relievers indomethacin,

cyclobenzaprin and carisoprodol, the allergy/anti-anxiety drugs hydroxyzine and

promethazine, and the incontinence drug oxybutynin.

The study did not include non-prescription drugs and supplements, which can also

have harmful effects.

Curtis, an assistant professor at Duke University Medical Center, suggested that

seniors not only should review all the medication they are taking with their

physician but also consult their pharmacist. She suggested that insurance

company computers be programmed to flag potentially harmful prescriptions given

to the elderly, particularly when Medicare, the federal government’s health

insurance for the elderly and people with disabilities, begins drug coverage.

Although some drugstores have installed computer systems to review all the

medications a patient is taking, Curtis said it isn’t clear how reliable the

systems are.

[Guest guest]

All psychiatric drugs, go figure......

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/living/9529922.htm

Posted on Sun, Aug. 29, 2004

Seniors getting risky drugs

Researchers show older people can’t metabolize some medicines

By Reitman

Los Angeles Times

Many older Americans are getting prescription drugs that could be particularly

dangerous for them.

In a large study of prescription claims filed for reimbursement, Duke University

researchers found that about 21 percent of elderly patients had filled

prescriptions for drugs that are known to cause harm or induce harmful side

effects in those older than 65. They include antidepressants, painkillers such

as Demerol, and sedatives such as Valium.

More than 15 percent of patients had filled prescriptions for two of the

potentially harmful drugs and 4 percent had gotten three or more, according to

the study, published in the August issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The findings indicate “a significant failure in the American health care

system,” wrote Dr. Knight Steel, chief of geriatrics at Hackensack University

Medical Center, in an editorial accompanying the analysis of 765,423 claims by

elderly patients. Even if the study had turned up half as many hazardous

prescriptions, he wrote, it would still be “shocking and warrants immediate and

thoughtful action.”

The study underscores the need for more vigilance by physicians about the drugs

they are prescribing to elderly people, whose organs don’t metabolize or excrete

drugs as quickly as those of younger people.

The hazards are compounded when taking multiple drugs that might not interact

well together.

Although the study was done with data from 1999, lead researcher Lesley H.

Curtis says the problem has not likely improved in recent years because other

studies have turned up similar findings.

Steel said in an interview that he thinks the danger is probably far greater

than the study suggests. Older adults take many drugs, and the study didn’t

consider the drugs administered at nursing homes and hospitals, which, he wrote,

“are known to have a high prevalence of inappropriate prescriptions.”

For instance, he noted that meperidine (the generic name for the painkiller

Demerol) is widely prescribed, though it relieves pain only for a few hours and

remains in the system for about a day, potentially causing seizures and

confusion.

The reasons for the problem, say the authors and other experts, include the fact

that physicians generally take only one course in pharmacology, receiving much

of their information about drugs from pharmaceutical company representatives.

Although the potential hazards of each drug are outlined in the 3,000-page

“Physicians Desk Reference,” physicians have so much to keep up with between

drug interactions and patients’ conditions, they are often overwhelmed. The most

commonly prescribed of the potentially harmful medications are psychotropic

drugs, including tricyclic antidepressants (amitriptyline, Doxepin), painkillers

and sedatives. Among the more commonly known drugs are Valium (generic name

diazepam) and Librium (chlordiazepoxide clidinium). Other drugs considered less

dangerous but still potentially harmful are the pain relievers indomethacin,

cyclobenzaprin and carisoprodol, the allergy/anti-anxiety drugs hydroxyzine and

promethazine, and the incontinence drug oxybutynin.

The study did not include non-prescription drugs and supplements, which can also

have harmful effects.

Curtis, an assistant professor at Duke University Medical Center, suggested that

seniors not only should review all the medication they are taking with their

physician but also consult their pharmacist. She suggested that insurance

company computers be programmed to flag potentially harmful prescriptions given

to the elderly, particularly when Medicare, the federal government’s health

insurance for the elderly and people with disabilities, begins drug coverage.

Although some drugstores have installed computer systems to review all the

medications a patient is taking, Curtis said it isn’t clear how reliable the

systems are.

[Guest guest]

All psychiatric drugs, go figure......

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/living/9529922.htm

Posted on Sun, Aug. 29, 2004

Seniors getting risky drugs

Researchers show older people can’t metabolize some medicines

By Reitman

Los Angeles Times

Many older Americans are getting prescription drugs that could be particularly

dangerous for them.

In a large study of prescription claims filed for reimbursement, Duke University

researchers found that about 21 percent of elderly patients had filled

prescriptions for drugs that are known to cause harm or induce harmful side

effects in those older than 65. They include antidepressants, painkillers such

as Demerol, and sedatives such as Valium.

More than 15 percent of patients had filled prescriptions for two of the

potentially harmful drugs and 4 percent had gotten three or more, according to

the study, published in the August issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The findings indicate “a significant failure in the American health care

system,” wrote Dr. Knight Steel, chief of geriatrics at Hackensack University

Medical Center, in an editorial accompanying the analysis of 765,423 claims by

elderly patients. Even if the study had turned up half as many hazardous

prescriptions, he wrote, it would still be “shocking and warrants immediate and

thoughtful action.”

The study underscores the need for more vigilance by physicians about the drugs

they are prescribing to elderly people, whose organs don’t metabolize or excrete

drugs as quickly as those of younger people.

The hazards are compounded when taking multiple drugs that might not interact

well together.

Although the study was done with data from 1999, lead researcher Lesley H.

Curtis says the problem has not likely improved in recent years because other

studies have turned up similar findings.

Steel said in an interview that he thinks the danger is probably far greater

than the study suggests. Older adults take many drugs, and the study didn’t

consider the drugs administered at nursing homes and hospitals, which, he wrote,

“are known to have a high prevalence of inappropriate prescriptions.”

For instance, he noted that meperidine (the generic name for the painkiller

Demerol) is widely prescribed, though it relieves pain only for a few hours and

remains in the system for about a day, potentially causing seizures and

confusion.

The reasons for the problem, say the authors and other experts, include the fact

that physicians generally take only one course in pharmacology, receiving much

of their information about drugs from pharmaceutical company representatives.

Although the potential hazards of each drug are outlined in the 3,000-page

“Physicians Desk Reference,” physicians have so much to keep up with between

drug interactions and patients’ conditions, they are often overwhelmed. The most

commonly prescribed of the potentially harmful medications are psychotropic

drugs, including tricyclic antidepressants (amitriptyline, Doxepin), painkillers

and sedatives. Among the more commonly known drugs are Valium (generic name

diazepam) and Librium (chlordiazepoxide clidinium). Other drugs considered less

dangerous but still potentially harmful are the pain relievers indomethacin,

cyclobenzaprin and carisoprodol, the allergy/anti-anxiety drugs hydroxyzine and

promethazine, and the incontinence drug oxybutynin.

The study did not include non-prescription drugs and supplements, which can also

have harmful effects.

Curtis, an assistant professor at Duke University Medical Center, suggested that

seniors not only should review all the medication they are taking with their

physician but also consult their pharmacist. She suggested that insurance

company computers be programmed to flag potentially harmful prescriptions given

to the elderly, particularly when Medicare, the federal government’s health

insurance for the elderly and people with disabilities, begins drug coverage.

Although some drugstores have installed computer systems to review all the

medications a patient is taking, Curtis said it isn’t clear how reliable the

systems are.

[Guest guest]

All psychiatric drugs, go figure......

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/living/9529922.htm

Posted on Sun, Aug. 29, 2004

Seniors getting risky drugs

Researchers show older people can’t metabolize some medicines

By Reitman

Los Angeles Times

Many older Americans are getting prescription drugs that could be particularly

dangerous for them.

In a large study of prescription claims filed for reimbursement, Duke University

researchers found that about 21 percent of elderly patients had filled

prescriptions for drugs that are known to cause harm or induce harmful side

effects in those older than 65. They include antidepressants, painkillers such

as Demerol, and sedatives such as Valium.

More than 15 percent of patients had filled prescriptions for two of the

potentially harmful drugs and 4 percent had gotten three or more, according to

the study, published in the August issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The findings indicate “a significant failure in the American health care

system,” wrote Dr. Knight Steel, chief of geriatrics at Hackensack University

Medical Center, in an editorial accompanying the analysis of 765,423 claims by

elderly patients. Even if the study had turned up half as many hazardous

prescriptions, he wrote, it would still be “shocking and warrants immediate and

thoughtful action.”

The study underscores the need for more vigilance by physicians about the drugs

they are prescribing to elderly people, whose organs don’t metabolize or excrete

drugs as quickly as those of younger people.

The hazards are compounded when taking multiple drugs that might not interact

well together.

Although the study was done with data from 1999, lead researcher Lesley H.

Curtis says the problem has not likely improved in recent years because other

studies have turned up similar findings.

Steel said in an interview that he thinks the danger is probably far greater

than the study suggests. Older adults take many drugs, and the study didn’t

consider the drugs administered at nursing homes and hospitals, which, he wrote,

“are known to have a high prevalence of inappropriate prescriptions.”

For instance, he noted that meperidine (the generic name for the painkiller

Demerol) is widely prescribed, though it relieves pain only for a few hours and

remains in the system for about a day, potentially causing seizures and

confusion.

The reasons for the problem, say the authors and other experts, include the fact

that physicians generally take only one course in pharmacology, receiving much

of their information about drugs from pharmaceutical company representatives.

Although the potential hazards of each drug are outlined in the 3,000-page

“Physicians Desk Reference,” physicians have so much to keep up with between

drug interactions and patients’ conditions, they are often overwhelmed. The most

commonly prescribed of the potentially harmful medications are psychotropic

drugs, including tricyclic antidepressants (amitriptyline, Doxepin), painkillers

and sedatives. Among the more commonly known drugs are Valium (generic name

diazepam) and Librium (chlordiazepoxide clidinium). Other drugs considered less

dangerous but still potentially harmful are the pain relievers indomethacin,

cyclobenzaprin and carisoprodol, the allergy/anti-anxiety drugs hydroxyzine and

promethazine, and the incontinence drug oxybutynin.

The study did not include non-prescription drugs and supplements, which can also

have harmful effects.

Curtis, an assistant professor at Duke University Medical Center, suggested that

seniors not only should review all the medication they are taking with their

physician but also consult their pharmacist. She suggested that insurance

company computers be programmed to flag potentially harmful prescriptions given

to the elderly, particularly when Medicare, the federal government’s health

insurance for the elderly and people with disabilities, begins drug coverage.

Although some drugstores have installed computer systems to review all the

medications a patient is taking, Curtis said it isn’t clear how reliable the

systems are.