Use of High-Risk Medications in the Elderly
Percentage of patients 66 years of age and older who were ordered high-risk medications. Two rates are reported:
a. Percentage of patients who were ordered at least one high-risk medication
b. Percentage of patients who were ordered at least two different high-risk medications.
-
Group/Practice
Health Plan
Individual Clinician
Integrated Delivery System
Measure Info
91黑料网 does not support QPP measure 238: "Use of High-Risk Medications in the Elderly." While it is clinically important to monitor high-risk medications in elderly adults, implementation may result in underuse of clinically appropriate pharmacotherapy in adults aged > 65 years. Furthermore, developers cite the controversial American Geriatrics Society Beers Criteria to form the basis of the measure, which is based on expert opinion as opposed to high-quality evidence. Moreover, we note several issues with the measure specifications. First, the denominator may inaccurately define 鈥渆lderly adults鈥 as > 65 years of age. Developers should consider revising the specifications to include a more appropriate definition that would classify 鈥渆lderly adults鈥 according to mental and functional status or increase the denominator threshold to > 80 years of age. Second, the denominator specifications do not stratify patients into well-defined risk groups. It鈥檚 conceivable for some patients 66 years and older to tolerate high risk medications as appropriate treatment. Third, the measure specifies medications that are not presumed to be high risk in all elderly adults (e.g., acetaminophen), and fourth, the specifications do not include exclusion criteria for patient preference. Finally, while this measure is appropriate for health plan-level assessment, individual clinicians may encounter interoperability barriers to patient information access.