Biomaterial Database

Potentially inappropriate prescribing among Australian veterans and war widows/widowers. 2007

E E Roughead, and B Anderson, and A L Gilbert

Sansom Institute, School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia. libby.roughead@unisa.edu.au

This study examined the extent of potentially inappropriate medicine, as defined by explicit criteria, dispensed to Australian veterans using the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme Pharmacy Claims database. Twenty-one per cent of the 192,363 veterans aged 70 years, with an eligible gold card, were dispensed at least one potentially inappropriate medicine in the first 6 months of 2005. Long-acting benzodiazepines, amitriptyline, amiodarone, oxybutynin and doxepin were the medicines most commonly implicated. Strategies to support quality prescribing of medicines to the elderly must include a focus on these medicines.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D008508	Medication Errors	Errors in prescribing, dispensing, or administering medication with the result that the patient fails to receive the correct drug or the indicated proper drug dosage.	Drug Use Error,Errors, Medication,High-Alert Drug Error,High-Alert Medication Error,LASA Medication Errors,Look-Alike Drug Name Errors,Look-Alike Sound-Alike Drug Errors,Look-Alike Sound-Alike Drug Substitution Errors,Look-Alike Sound-Alike Medication Errors,Lookalike Drug Name Errors,Lookalike Soundalike Drug Errors,Lookalike Soundalike Drug Substitution Errors,Lookalike Soundalike Medication Errors,Drug Error, High-Alert,Drug Use Errors,Error, Drug Use,Error, LASA Medication,Error, Medication,High Alert Drug Error,High Alert Medication Error,High-Alert Drug Errors,High-Alert Medication Errors,LASA Medication Error,Look Alike Drug Name Errors,Look Alike Sound Alike Drug Errors,Look Alike Sound Alike Drug Substitution Errors,Look Alike Sound Alike Medication Errors,Medication Error,Medication Error, High-Alert,Medication Error, LASA,Medication Errors, High-Alert,Medication Errors, LASA
D011307	Drug Prescriptions	Directions written for the obtaining and use of DRUGS.	Drug Prescribing,Drug Prescription,Drug Prescribings,Prescribing, Drug,Prescribings, Drug
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000367	Age Factors	Age as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or the effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from AGING, a physiological process, and TIME FACTORS which refers only to the passage of time.	Age Reporting,Age Factor,Factor, Age,Factors, Age
D000368	Aged	A person 65 years of age or older. For a person older than 79 years, AGED, 80 AND OVER is available.	Elderly
D000369	Aged, 80 and over	Persons 80 years of age and older.	Oldest Old
D001315	Australia	The smallest continent and an independent country, comprising six states and two territories. Its capital is Canberra.	Canton and Enderbury Islands,Christmas Island,Christmas Island (Australia)
D014728	Veterans	Former members of the armed services.	Veteran