Quiz question number one. Problems with medications cause what percentage of hospitalizations for people over 50 years old? 5% 15% 20% or 40%? You can pause the video and think about it if you'd like. Okay, ready for the answer? The answer is 20%.
Some of these hospitalizations are for drug toxicity. Some are due to falls caused by medication side effects. falls are a major cause of decreased well being in the elderly. Many drugs have been associated with the risk of falls. Any drug that causes dizziness, drowsiness, confusion, decreased coordination, balance, visual disturbances or increased trips to the bathroom is associated with the risk of false. quiz question number two, true or false?
Most drugs prescribed for seniors have been adequately researched for this age group. You can pause and think about this if you like that the answer is false. This is slowly changing, but traditionally drug studies were done on young or middle aged men, women and the elderly were not included. quiz question number three. What percentage of Canadian women over 85 are taking at least one risky prescription? Now medications are considered risky when they can do harm and when a safer drug or non drug therapy exists that can be used to treat the same Symptoms 25% is 36% taking at least one risky prescription?
Is it 47%? Or is it 60%? Pause if you like, but ready or not? The answer is 47%. There was a well respected and researched list put out by the American geriatric society called the beers list, which itemizes medications that are considered risky for the elderly. Its purpose is to improve medication selection, educate clinicians and patients, and serve as a tool for evaluating the quality of care cost and patterns of drug use in older adults.
Quiz question number four. A CPC in depth report estimates that as many as how many Canadians Seniors die every year from adverse drug reactions 500 1600 2800 or 3300? Ready for the answer? The answer is 3300. quiz question number five. What percentage of Canadians over 65 are taking five or more prescription drugs regularly? Now taking five or more drugs regularly is called polypharmacy, and it is considered a risk factor for medication problems.
So is it 28% 42% 57% or 69%? The answer is 69%. Are you alarmed yet? Ready to flush pills down the toilet? Please don't do this. Remember that medications are here to help people be well.
The important thing is to make sure we get the most benefit with the smallest risk. That is what this course will help you learn about. Next we will prepare for journey with Phil the pill that will show us some of the physiological changes of aging that can make medications unsafe. First, we will meet the main characters of our story.