About  twothirds  taken  to hospitals  for  medication-related problems, are  over the age of 65. This  picture has been recognised for  a  long time  and  some  actions have been taken yet  the numbers keep on increasing. Not  just the pensioners, the incidence of drug -related adversities are affecting virtullay all of us and  the overall rate  of  reactions to drugs is quite high ; nearly  7 % of hospital admissions are for such  problems. >

Older people, as a  group,  are usually on more tablets than others  and it is due to  their overall increased illness rate.  Multiple  interlinked factors influence this phenomena ;  more  ills  so more pills ;  more pills  so more ills  from the pills!!

Sounds  jocular but the single most common cause of  adverse drug reactions are the intake of too many medications  concurrently.  Just  not ' reactions' to medicines , many other  'adversities' may also  develop with uncontrolled and unmonitored  drug-intake.  Such  overall 'adverse  effects resulting from  some medication taken originally'   are being called  'adverse drug events'!  Many  studies and surveys have already been conducted and  more  are ongoing  -  and  the general conclusion is ' too many medications are being given and taken'  especially to and   by the older people.   Lack of  regular monitoring , reviews and  discontinuation of the existing medication before adding a new one  are some of the causes.  In addition many  buy medications over the counter without a  proper prescription and may not declare those  when  an  official  prescription is given.  Some  may even  forget to tell  the doctor if   they have been on some medication for years and the doctor may not be aware of it   especially  in hospitals.>

Regular  strict medication surveillance  is  crucial to good and safe health care ; the individuals  and their  caregivers must remain more vigilant about the medications , prescribed or otherwise.   Medications are useful and very effective but like cars they can also kill !!!!