Older adults often assume new prescriptions have no side effects
By
Alicia Lasek
Feb 25, 2021
Clinicians may want to intentionally emphasize side effects when prescribing new medications to older patients, a new study suggests.
Residents may be more open to deprescribing when suggested by physician
By
Alicia Lasek
Feb 19, 2021
Among 300 geriatric inpatients, outpatients and nursing home residents, 33% said they would like to try stopping one of their medications on their own. And a greater number — 87% — said they would...
Muscle relaxant prescriptions have tripled for older adults, investigators find
By
Alicia Lasek
Jun 30, 2020
Clinicians may be prescribing the drugs as an opioid alternative for chronic pain management, propose the researchers. Opioids are often prescribed simultaneously, they found.
COVID-19 driving up scripts for anti-anxiety, depression and insomnia medications
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 20, 2020
Anti-anxiety drug use, for one, spiked 34% in February and March, according to a new report. Prescriptions had fallen in the years prior to the pandemic.
New residents’ health increasingly complex, finds nursing home study
By
Alicia Lasek
Mar 03, 2020
The number of new residents with seven or more health conditions has risen, along with drug prescriptions per individual and age.
Nearly half of Medicaid patients’ antibiotics prescribed with ‘no clear rationale’
By
Alicia Lasek
Feb 04, 2020
Among millions of antibiotic fills tracked, many had no recent claims for a clinician encounter or a link to an infection diagnosis, say investigators.
Clinical Briefs for Thursday, January 30
By
Alicia Lasek
Jan 29, 2020
Residents report improved health with weekly smartphone interaction … Lithium may halt Alzheimer’s disease progression, researchers claim … Some residents receive fewer prescriptions due to lack...
New resident with pneumonia? Better check for excessive antibiotic use
By
Alicia Lasek
Jul 09, 2019
Two-thirds of hospitalized pneumonia patients are discharged with unnecessarily long prescriptions, a Michigan study has found.
Too many hospice patients are receiving antibiotics, and for too long, researchers say
By
Stephanie H. Kim
Jul 15, 2014
The prevalence and frequency of antibiotic use among hospice patients is high despite little evidence of effectiveness, researchers say.
New Wisconsin data network breaking through old barriers
By
John O'Connor
Oct 01, 2013
In what may be a sign of things to come, Wisconsin nursing homes, hospitals and other providers will soon have the ability to exchange patient information with a database operated by a nonprofit organization.