Open AccessInappropriate prescribing in an elderly population: findings from a South African public sector survey
Author(s) -
Chetty Rangini,
Gray Andy
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
international journal of pharmacy practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.42
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 2042-7174
pISSN - 0961-7671
DOI - 10.1211/0022357044256
Subject(s) - medicine , medical prescription , public sector , family medicine , beers criteria , pharmacy , primary care , public health , government (linguistics) , cross sectional study , multivariate analysis , health care , pediatrics , nursing , linguistics , philosophy , economy , pathology , economics , economic growth
Objective To quantify the extent of potentially inappropriate prescribing among elderly patients seen at public sector primary health care facilities and old age homes in a South African urban setting. Method Cross‐sectional survey of the prescription charts of patients aged 65 years or older, using a list of potentially inappropriate medicines in elderly patients, modified from that established by Beers and further developed by consensus. Setting A provincial government chronic prescription pharmacy servicing public sector primary health care clinics and old age homes in the Durban metropole. Key findings Of the 6,410 prescriptions that were reviewed, 1,926 (30.0%) included at least one medication listed as potentially inappropriate in the elderly. The median number of chronic medications prescribed per patient was 4 (range 1 to 11). Although the prevalence of potentially inappropriate prescribing in patients receiving medication at primary health care clinics (29.7%) was similar to the prevalence in those resident in old age homes (31.8%), this difference was shown to be significant upon multivariate analysis. Age was not found to be a predictor of inappropriate prescribing. An association was found between sex and inappropriate prescribing, with female sex being associated with a greater degree of potentially inappropriate prescribing. Conclusion This study has shown that 30% of elderly patients were prescribed at least one potentially inappropriate medicine. Women were more likely than men to be prescribed potentially inappropriate medicines.