title: Prescribing for older people.
abstract: Approach must be co-ordinated Prescribing by nurses rose by 50 per cent in 2007 ( Information Centre 2008 ). In the UK, those aged over 60 receive 60 per cent of dispensed prescriptions and account for more than half of NHS drug costs ( Information Centre 2008, Milton et al 2008 ). Polypharmacy is common in older people with almost one fifth of those over 70 taking five or more drugs ( Milton et al 2008 ) and care home residents taking an average of eight medications ( Bowker et al 2006 ). Polypharmacy increases the risk of adverse drug reactions, interactions, falls, hospital admissions and readmissions ( Campbell et al 2004, Milton et al 2008 ). This increases the financial burden on the NHS. Inappropriate prescribing in the older population is a major public health issue.
authors.forename: Abigail
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Flinders
authors.affiliation: Pinderfields General Hospital, Wakefield, Yorkshire.
authors.forename: Vidhya
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nair