Cost of pharmacological care of the elderly: implications for healthcare resources.

Expenditures on prescribed medicines are significantly higher among those aged 65 years and over than among younger people. As populations in developed countries age so the cost of pharmacological care associated with the older population can be expected to increase. While pharmacological care represents only one component of healthcare, its costs are increasing rapidly because of advances in technology and increasing use. However, such costs should be considered within a context of decreasing disability in the elderly population, improving economic conditions among seniors and the relationship of these costs with those in other aspects of healthcare. Where medications have been demonstrated to be cost-effective, attempts to curtail expenditure growth may prove a false economy resulting in significantly higher growth elsewhere such as in the hospital and long-term care sectors. Policy responses to this issue should encompass the inclusion of elderly patients in clinical trials, the use of evidence-based principles of practice and strategies to ensure that this population obtain maximum benefit from medication through education and counselling.