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Why Older Adults Keep Taking Medications They May No Longer Need
Key Takeaways
- Researchers often find a widely used drug is less effective for older patients or that its risks outweigh benefits, and more studies then confirm the finding.
- Guideline revisions, Beers Criteria listings, USPSTF cautions and FDA black box warnings typically arrive years after the initial evidence.
- When national prescribing data is checked, use frequently has fallen but not enough — sometimes it barely changed or rose.
- Dr. Michael Steinman of UCSF compares medications to barnacles: easy to start, hard to stop, because clinicians and patients form ingrained habits.
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DT Editorial Team··via medicalxpress.com