Prevalence of potentially inappropriate medicine use in older N ew Z ealanders: a population‐level study using the updated 2012 B eers criteria

Rational, aims and objectives To examine the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medicines ( PIM s) in older N ew Z ealanders at a population level. Methods De‐identified prescription data for all individuals ≥65 years were obtained from the P harmaceutical C laims D ata M art for 2011. I nternational C lassification of D iseases‐10‐AM (version 6) codes were used to extract diagnostic information from the N ational M inimum D atasets and PIM s were identified using the updated B eers 2012 criteria. Results 40.9% of older people were prescribed PIM s with approximately half dispensed ≥2 PIM s in 2011. Exposure was highest in individuals aged 65–74 years (68.9 ± 2.9). The most prevalent PIM s dispensed were diclofenac (6.0%), amitriptyline (4.9%), ibuprofen (4.6%), zopiclone (3.2%) and naproxen (3.0%). 66.3% of individuals were dispensed ≥1 and 80.8% were dispensed ≥2 medicines with a potential for drug‐disease/syndrome interaction. Conclusions The updated B eers 2012 criteria identified that the use of PIM s at a population level is common in older N ew Z ealanders.