We hear a lot about the opioid crisis, but the scope and impact of over-prescribing in older adults is a much bigger problem. On the heels of a newly-released Action Plan from The Lown Institute, we hear from the researchers.
In the last two decades the number of people age 65 or older who are taking five or more medications has increased 300 percent. A problem that is much bigger than America’s opioid crisis, the scope and impact of over-prescribing in older adults is detailed in “Medication Overload: America’s Other Drug Problem,” a report co-authored by The Lown Institute’s Judith Garber, a Health Policy and Communications Fellow at Lown; and Shannon Brownlee, Senior VP at the Institute and author of the book, “Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine is Making Us Sicker and Poorer.” We talk with Shannon and Judith about what’s driving the practice of over-prescribing, solutions that have been effective in tackling the problem and what you can do to prevent adverse drug events. This episode airs on the heels of a newly-released report from Lown titled, “Eliminating Medication Overload: A National Action Plan.”
Note: this episode originally aired April 11, 2019. For a transcript of that episode click here: Transcript
Original Report: Medication Overload: America’s Other Drug Problem
Just released: “Eliminating Medication Overload: A National Action Plan”
Lown Institute Action Plan Issue Briefs (quick takes):
Reducing Pharmaceutical Industry Influence
Implementing Prescription Checkups
Improving Information at the Point of Care
Raising Awareness of Medication Overload
Educating and Training Health Professionals
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