Medication use and prescribing considerations for elderly patients.

Older adults consume more medications than any other segment of the population. Increasing lifespan means that more people will live into old age, frequently with disabilities and conditions man-aged by medications. Age-associated physiologic changes, medication use patterns, and adverse drug effects and interactions place the older adult at high risk for medication-related problems. Older adults living in institutions, those with complex medical problems,and those who do not adhere to medication regimens are at highest risk for negative health outcomes from medication mishaps. Dentists must be able to identify older adults who are susceptible to adverse drug events and to recognize which medications are most likely to precipitate problems.