Highlights From the 2019 AGS Beers Criteria® Updates

OBJECTIVE: To compare the 2015 and 2019 AGS Beers Criteria® of potentially inappropriate medications in the elderly. DATA SOURCES: American Geriatrics Society 2015 and 2019 Updated AGS Beers Criteria® for Potentially Inappropriate Medication (PIM) Use in Older Adults published literature. STUDY SELECTION/DATA EXTRACTION: The literature was reviewed, compared, and summarized to identify pertinent changes and updates to the AGS Beers Criteria of PIMs in the elderly. DATA SYNTHESIS: The AGS Beers Criteria® contains a list of potentially inappropriate medications that should be used with caution, avoided, notable drug-drug interactions, and drugs that should be dose-adjusted based on kidney function in the older adult. The updated AGS Beers Criteria® also includes removal of medications that are no longer sold in the United States, have a low usage rate, provide low evidence of harm, and/or the potential harm is not unique to the older adult. CONCLUSION: The AGS Beers Criteria® is intended to improve and optimize the care of the geriatric population. It serves as a guide to minimize older adults' exposure to PIMs whenever possible. As with previously published updates to the AGS Beers Criteria®, the 2019 update outlines the following: recommendations, rationale, and quality of the recommendations, as well as the strength of the recommendations.