Danger of Prescriptions Errors for Seniors Increasing, Study Finds

May 29, 2003
Seniors increasingly receive prescriptions for too much medicine or even the wrong drugs, a study by Medco Health Solutions shows. Medco analyzed data on 6.3 million seniors last year and found more than 7.9 million errors in their prescriptions -- more than double the number found in a similar study conducted in 1999.

The errors included prescriptions for medications in higher doses than recommended, for improper treatments and for prescription drugs that could have adverse interactions with patients' other medications.

Dr. Richard Dupee, chief of geriatrics at Tufts-New England Medical Center, attributed many of the errors to the "complexity of prescribing drugs for seniors," who often require lower doses because their bodies cannot metabolize medications effectively, the Boston Herald reported.

Lack of communication between primary care physicians and specialists also can lead to errors, Dupee said. The study found that one in six seniors saw five different physicians and filled their prescriptions at five different pharmacies.

Medco recommended that seniors inform their physicians about the number of physicians they visit, the number of prescription drugs that they take and whether they take dietary supplements or over-the-counter medications. Medco also recommended that seniors ask their physicians to communicate with each other and to share medical reports.

In addition, seniors should ask their physicians whether they could take lower dosages of medications, about the potential for adverse interactions with other treatments and about the symptoms caused by their illnesses, according to Medco.

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