AGS Updates Beers Criteria for Medication Use in Older Adults

​The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) has updated the Beers Criteria for Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Adults, according to the society's January 31, 2019, press release. Published on January 29, 2019, in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, the criteria consist of five lists of medications that pose risks to older adults: those that should be avoided by most older people (outside of hospice and palliative care settings); those that should be avoided by older people with specific health conditions; those that should be avoided in combination with other medications (because of the risk for harmful drug-drug interactions); those that should be used with caution because they may cause harmful side effects; and those that should be dosed differently or avoided among people with reduced kidney function. The update includes 30 individual medications or medication classes to avoid for most older people; 40 medications or medication classes to use with caution or avoid for patients with certain diseases or conditions; and several changes to medications previously identified as inappropriate (some were dropped and others moved to new categories).