Large numbers of older people may be on medicines, prescribed by their GP, that they do not need.
A recent study examined the extent of potentially inappropriate prescribing among 166,108 older patients and found a prevalence of 34pc in that population.
The investigation, carried out by researchers on both sides of the border including Trinity College and the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, found the drugs that were commonly wrongly prescribed included proton pump inhibitors, which reduce gastric stomach acid.
They were being taken at a maximum therapeutic dose for more than eight weeks by 17,931 patients.
Others included non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which can be prescribed for conditions including forms of arthritis, headache and migraine.
There were 14,545 patients on these drugs. Others were on long-term tranquillisers.
The findings showed that inappropriate prescribing was strongly associated with polypharmacy, in other words patients who were also taking several drugs already.
The study was carried out in Northern Ireland where drugs are free. Although patients in the south, where there is a mix of medical card holders and private patients, were not examined, it is accepted that older age groups here are also at risk of getting drugs they do not need.
Inappropriate medication use is a particular safety concern for elderly adults because they are vulnerable to side-effects or harmful reactions with other drugs.
Patients are not always taken off medicine when their circumstances change or when the guidance on the use of the drug is updated.
Although various solutions have been put forward, including better record-keeping, a basic safeguard is for doctors to regularly review their elderly patients’ medication.
