An Update on the Beers List

Overview:
Healthcare practitioners who care for seniors across all practice settings have an important role in managing medications. In the United States, medication-related problems have an enormous health care impact; however, many of these problems are preventable. In seniors, inappropriate medication selection causes unnecessary hospital admissions and unnecessary side effects. Appropriate medication selection is especially critical for the elderly population due to physiological changes associated with aging, increased use of multiple medications, and the potential for drug interactions.
The Beers’ criteria have been extensively used over the past decade to identify and evaluate potentially inappropriate medication use in adults 65 years and older in the United States.

This session will start by providing background as to why specific criteria for the medication management around classes of medications that are both frequently used and associated with drug-related problems in older adults – central nervous system medications is so needed.

CNS medications were chosen as the first group to evaluate because they commonly lead to adverse reactions in the elderly. CNS drug use in older adults and in persons with dementia has increased over the last decade.5 Many potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) are central nervous system active medications that are widely prescribed for the management of behavior problems and other chronic conditions. Older adults take a greater number of CNS-active medications including antipsychotics, anxiolytics, and antidepressants.6 Use of many of these drugs is associated with poor outcomes such as increased utilization, falls, delirium, and decreased quality of life.7-12 Additionally, the formulary of choices has become large, and differences among choices have been reasonably well documented. It is recognized that this group of drugs represents only the starting point for the development of further criteria.

The session will end with a description provided by Dr. Mark Beers regarding where are currently regarding the use of the Beers criteria and more importantly where we can and should be in utilizing these important guides in improving healthcare outcomes for our senior patients.

Faculty
Richard G. Stefanacci, DO, MGH, MBA, AGSF, CMD
Founding Executive Director, Center for Medicare
Medication Management
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia

Program Date
Thursday, October 2, 2008
6:45 a.m. - 8:15 a.m.

Presentation