Collecting data about drug use by elderly people.

A random sample of 805 people aged 65 or more were interviewed in their homes in England about the drugs they were taking, and about their experiences with and views about the way drugs were prescribed. Assessments by a pharmacologist and pharmacists identified inappropriate prescribing and labelling and revealed the extent of elderly people's knowledge of their drugs. Information obtained from general practitioners, with the consent of the elderly people, showed that over a third of the elderly people were taking prescribed drugs of which their physician was unaware, but over four-fifths of the drugs reported by both patients and physicians were thought by both groups to be taken appropriately or as prescribed. The processes and problems of drug utilization and drug prescribing are demonstrated by approaching both patients and physicians and further illuminated by the expertise of pharmacologist and pharmacist.