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Almost half of over-65s in England are taking at least five different drugs a day
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I wonder what the number and cost is here?:


Almost half of over-65s in England are taking at least five different drugs a day, a Cambridge University study has found.
The figure has risen from just 12 per cent 20 years ago, while the proportion taking no pills at all dropped from around 20 per cent in the late 1990s to just seven per cent today.

Researchers tracked more than 15,000 older people who took part in two long-term health studies which began in the 1990s.

"The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."
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Re: Almost half of over-65s in England are taking at least five different drugs a day [jkca1] [ In reply to ]
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jkca1 wrote:
I wonder what the number and cost is here?:


Almost half of over-65s in England are taking at least five different drugs a day, a Cambridge University study has found.

The figure has risen from just 12 per cent 20 years ago, while the proportion taking no pills at all dropped from around 20 per cent in the late 1990s to just seven per cent today.

Researchers tracked more than 15,000 older people who took part in two long-term health studies which began in the 1990s.

Probably cheaper for NHS to medicate them than to spend big bucks treating and curing them of whatever ails them. Write a script, get them out of the office, get next patient in, write a script, get them out of the office. Wash, rinse, repeat. ;-)

I don't want to get into the sociological aspects of why living in England as an over-65 might be so depressing. LOL!

"Politics is just show business for ugly people."
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Re: Almost half of over-65s in England are taking at least five different drugs a day [big kahuna] [ In reply to ]
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I am pretty sure my parents are suicidal only being able to travel once a month........

That said, there is a fundamental problem with funding levels at present that Simon Stevens has pointed out.

I would add that he is one of the smartest people I have ever met, and friends of mine tgat both worked with him say he is one of the "biggest brains" they've ever met.

He worked for downing street and Kaiser in US before taking huge pay cut to run NHS

Current inhabitants of number 10 dont like him but he really does have fuck you money so he can be less diplomatic than previous heads of the nhs
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Re: Almost half of over-65s in England are taking at least five different drugs a day [jkca1] [ In reply to ]
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Some of my colleagues do home health care and even as PTs when doing an initial evaluation they have to do drug reconciliation. Lots of stories of people on 20+ meds.
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Re: Almost half of over-65s in England are taking at least five different drugs a day [ThisIsIt] [ In reply to ]
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Same is true as families deliver meds to inpatient. Even worse when they get tto's. The wastage is huge.
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Re: Almost half of over-65s in England are taking at least five different drugs a day [jkca1] [ In reply to ]
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jkca1 wrote:
I wonder what the number and cost is here?:


Almost half of over-65s in England are taking at least five different drugs a day, a Cambridge University study has found.
The figure has risen from just 12 per cent 20 years ago, while the proportion taking no pills at all dropped from around 20 per cent in the late 1990s to just seven per cent today.

Researchers tracked more than 15,000 older people who took part in two long-term health studies which began in the 1990s.

I'm 66 and don't think I take five pills in a year. It just blows me away how so many seniors are allowing the docs to over prescribe to them like this.
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Re: Almost half of over-65s in England are taking at least five different drugs a day [jkca1] [ In reply to ]
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wife is a pharmacist, if I told her this she wouldn't be surprised. I recall her telling me something like: If you had something like high blood pressure, you'd be put on 2-3 meds right away. Some of the meds are to offset some of the side-effects of the other or supplement the other drug etc.

Its not that it is all over medicated, its just some of the issues with older folks require multiple drugs.
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Re: Almost half of over-65s in England are taking at least five different drugs a day [jkca1] [ In reply to ]
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I just completed a stem cell transplant procedure earlier this month and during that procedure the doctors and nurse practitioner (in particular the NP), went nuts proscribing every drug they could think of. At least trying to. I said no after it became so stupid that they were bringing in an offsite nurse to manage even more intravenous drugs that I did not need or want.

Its bad enough to have cancer and have to deal with chemotherapy, its adding insult to injury to pile on a bunch of drugs (each with their own side effects), on top of misery.
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