Each year in this country, 73,000 elderly die from adverse drug
reactions or medication errors.
In California, medication problems send an estimated 180,000
people to the hospital each year, and that health care costs the state
more than $500 million, said Betty Yee of the State Senate Office of
Research.
"Every year, more seniors die of medication, not of a disease but
adverse medication reaction, than all the people who died in
Vietnam," said Kathy Borgan. of the Chemical Dependency Center
for Women in Sacramento.
Because the elderly take an estimated 30 percent of all
prescribed drugs and 70 percent of all over-the-counter medications,
they experience more problems with their usage, according to
experts in elderly health care.
Often suffering from multiple health problems, an older person
may be taking several medications prescribed by more than one
doctor and may not be aware of how they conflict, said Borgan, who
works with the senior medication education program.
Medications often have a stronger effect on an elderly person
than on a younger patient and the prescribing doctor may not be
aware of that difference, she said.
For example, some medications may linger in the body longer
because the liver functions of an elderly person cannot work as
quickly to process out the drugs, said Borgan, who speaks to senior
citizens groups on drug usage.