Beers List Update: A Review of Geriatric Patient Care

What you'll learn

Course overview

If the day ends in Y, there's probably a new healthcare guideline being released! In 2019, the American Geriatric Society released its most recent update of the Beers List of Medications. This guideline often leaves clinicians pondering just what treatment options are actually recommended to help elderly patient care. One can also realize that all of us generally live longer these days as our geriatric population is exponentially growing. Thus healthcare professionals need to be knowledgeable of the most updated and comprehensive clinical guidance to provide the highest quality patient care possible. In this discussion, we will first review the differences among generations with regards to sociological and psychological factors, and then the changing physiology involved in aging, which is the driving force for the changes in medication selection and dosage. We will then discuss the multitude of medication-related scenarios within the 2019 AGS Beers List Update such as which medications to avoid or use with caution, and drug-drug interactions to avoid, all with particular attention to viable treatment alternatives. Ultimately, we will aim not only to discuss what to avoid, but even perhaps what's left to use for geriatric patient care.