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Improving the quality of medication use and medication safety are important priorities for healthcare providers who care for older adults. The objective of this article was to identify four exemplary articles with this focus in 2022. We selected high‐quality studies from an OVID search and hand searching of major high impact journals that advanced the field of research forward. The chosen articles cover domains related to deprescribing, medication safety, and optimizing medication use. The MedSafer Study, a cluster randomized clinical trial in Canada, evaluated whether patient specific deprescribing reports generated by electronic decision support software resulted in reduced adverse drug events in the 30 days post hospital discharge in older adults (domain: deprescribing). The second study, a retrospective cohort study using data from Premier Healthcare Database, examined in‐hospital adverse clinical events associated with perioperative gabapentin use among older adults undergoing major surgery (domain: medication safety). The third study used an open‐label parallel controlled trial in 39 Australian aged‐care facilities to examine the effectiveness of a pharmacist‐led intervention to reduce medication‐induced deterioration and adverse reactions (domain: optimizing medication use). Lastly, the fourth study engaged experts in a Delphi method process to develop a consensus list of clinically important prescribing cascades that adversely affect older persons' health to aid clinicians to identify, prevent, and manage prescribing cascades (domain: optimizing medication use). Collectively, this review succinctly highlights pertinent topics related to promoting safe use of medications and promotes awareness of optimizing older adults' medication regimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) in older adults are medications in which risks often outweigh benefits and are suggested to be avoided. Worldwide, many distinct guidelines and tools classify PIMs in older adults. Collating these guidelines and tools, mapping them to a medication classification system, and creating a crosswalk will enhance the utility of PIM guidance for research and clinical practice. Methods: We used the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Classification System, a hierarchical classification system, to map PIMs from eight distinct guidelines and tools (2019 Beers Criteria, Screening Tool for Older Person's Appropriate Prescriptions [STOPP], STOPP‐Japan, German PRISCUS, European Union‐7 Potentially Inappropriate Medication [PIM] list, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS] High‐Risk Medication, Anticholinergic Burden Scale, and Drug Burden Index). Each PIM was mapped to ATC Level 5 (drug) and to ATC Level 4 (drug class). We then used the crosswalk (1) to compare PIMs and PIM drug classes across guidelines and tools to determine the number of PIMs that were index (drug‐induced adverse event) or marker (treatment of drug‐induced adverse event) drug of prescribing cascades, and (2) estimate the prevalence of PIM use in older adults continuously enrolled with fee‐for‐service Medicare in 2018 as use cases. Data visualization and descriptive statistics were used to assess guidelines and tools for both use cases. Results: Out of 480 unique PIMs identified, only three medications—amitriptyline, clomipramine, and imipramine and two drug classes—N06AA (tricyclic antidepressants) and N06AB (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), were noted in all eight guidelines and tools. Using the crosswalk, 50% of classes of index drugs and 47% of classes of marker drugs of known prescribing cascades were PIMs. Additionally, 88% of Medicare beneficiaries were dispensed ≥1 PIM across the eight guidelines and tools. Conclusion: We created a crosswalk of eight PIM guidelines and tools to the ATC classification system and created two use cases. Our findings could be used to expand the ease of PIM identification and harmonization for research and clinical practice purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Beers Criteria® (AGS Beers Criteria®) for Potentially Inappropriate Medication (PIM) Use in Older Adults are widely used by clinicians, educators, researchers, healthcare administrators, and regulators. Since 2011, the AGS has been the steward of the criteria and has produced updates on a 3‐year cycle. The AGS Beers Criteria® is an explicit list of PIMs that are typically best avoided by older adults in most circumstances or under specific situations, such as in certain diseases or conditions. For the 2019 update, an interdisciplinary expert panel reviewed the evidence published since the last update (2015) to determine if new criteria should be added or if existing criteria should be removed or undergo changes to their recommendation, rationale, level of evidence, or strength of recommendation. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:674–694, 2019. See related editorial by Steinman et al. in this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2015 American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Beers Criteria are presented. Like the 2012 AGS Beers Criteria, they include lists of potentially inappropriate medications to be avoided in older adults. New to the criteria are lists of select drugs that should be avoided or have their dose adjusted based on the individual's kidney function and select drug-drug interactions documented to be associated with harms in older adults. The specific aim was to have a 13-member interdisciplinary panel of experts in geriatric care and pharmacotherapy update the 2012 AGS Beers Criteria using a modified Delphi method to systematically review and grade the evidence and reach a consensus on each existing and new criterion. The process followed an evidence-based approach using Institute of Medicine standards. The 2015 AGS Beers Criteria are applicable to all older adults with the exclusion of those in palliative and hospice care. Careful application of the criteria by health professionals, consumers, payors, and health systems should lead to closer monitoring of drug use in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]