Seniors In The South Are More Apt To Be Prescribed Risky Drugs

Seniors in the Southeast were much more likely to be prescribed more than one high-risk medications in 2009.

Seniors in the Southeast were much more likely to be prescribed more than one high-risk medications in 2009.

Health care types have spent years trying to make the point that seniors are being prescribed medications are unnecessary and dangerous. But the message hasn't really sunk in.

More than 20 percent of people with Medicare Advantage coverage are taking at least one high-risk medication, a new study finds.

People in the Southeast are especially vulnerable, the data show. In many parts of the South, more than one-third of seniors are taking drugs that they should avoid or sub out for something safer. Ten percent are taking two or more.

"Geography really stands out," says Amal Trivedi, an associate professor of health services policy and practice at Brown University's Alpert Medical School. He's a co-author of the study, which was published in the April Journal of General Internal Medicine.

More than 38 percent of Medicare Advantage enrollees in Albany, Ga., got at least one risky drug, compared 10 percent in Mason City, Iowa, the area with the lowest rate. The people prescribed risky drugs were more likely to be poor, white, and female.

Why are Southerners more likely to be given risky meds? It could be that patients are asking for them, Trivedi says. Or it could be that doctors there are more apt to stick with old prescribing habits. But whatever the reason, he says, it's a marker for poor-quality health care.

The risky drugs include obvious culprits like amphetamines, barbiturates, muscle relaxants, and narcotics. Then there are old-style sedating antihistamines, and medications for depression and anxiety like long-acting diazepam, or Valium, which can cause apnea, and cardiac arrest. Many of the drugs increase the risk of falls.

"Because the the medication stays in the body longer, it increase the risk of falls and fracture," says Danya Qato, a pharmacist, graduate student, and co-author of the study. "If the physician decides to prescribe a benzo, there are short-acting alternatives."

Visit link:
Seniors In The South Are More Apt To Be Prescribed Risky Drugs