Over-the-counter medicines and the elderly.
Sales of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines are rising, and will continue to rise as more products are reclassified from prescription-only status to OTC medicines (either pharmacy-only or general sales list). Patients and doctors often omit discussion of OTC medicines when giving or taking a medication history. This has serious potential for identifying adverse drug reactions and drug-drug interactions, which are more common in older people. Therefore, medication histories should include documentation of any OTC medicines taken.
Barnett
N L
NL
Northwick Park Hospital. nina.barnett@bigfoot.com
Denham
M J
MJ
Francis
S A
SA
D000368:Aged; D005853:Geriatrics; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D006113:United Kingdom
D004366:Nonprescription Drugs