Tuesday, August 10, 2004

Study Examines Inappropriate Drug Prescribing For Elderly Patients
AMA press release at InteliHealth - "Prescribing of inappropriate medications for elderly patients appears relatively common, according to an article in the August 9/23 issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. According to information in the article, persons 65 years or older make up less than 15 percent of the population, but make up nearly one-third of prescription drug users. Elderly persons are also more likely to take several drugs concurrently, the article states. ... Amitriptyline and doxepin (drugs used for treatment of depression) accounted for 23 percent of claims for Beers list drugs, and 51 percent of those claims were for drugs with potentially harmful effects. .." See also the full journal article, which is available at no cost online.  
  

She turns her pen on drug makers
Los Angeles Times interview with Marcia Angell, former executive editor and editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, now a senior lecturer at Harvard Medical School and author of "a scathing critique of the pharmaceutical industry," The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What to Do About It. [Viewing Los Angeles Times stories requires registration, which is free].