Prescription drug use in the elderly: a descriptive analysis.
In the current policy debate, pharmaceutical use in the elderly has been characterized largely by its economic impact, with little discussion of what drugs the elderly are taking. Based on data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS), this study defines subgroups of the community-dwelling elderly using health and functional status, and provides a comprehensive description of the composition of prescription drug use in this population. Drugs are classified into 16 primary therapeutic classes, with further breakdown into secondary classes and characterization by chronic versus acute use. Utilization is reported by age and health status categories.
Moxey
Elizabeth D
ED
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, 1015 Chestnut Street, 2nd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107-5099, USA. elizabeth.moxey@mail.tju.edu
O'Connor
John P
JP
Novielli
Karen D
KD
Teutsch
Steven
S
Nash
David B
DB
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000145:classification; D000208:Acute Disease; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000188:drug therapy; D015897:Comorbidity; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000145:classification* / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D006278:Medicare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*