Screening for Inappropriate Polypharmacy Using STOPP Criteria With Assisted Living Residents

Inappropriate polypharmacy is dangerous and disproportionately affects older adults. An estimated 40% of Americans over 65 years old take 5 or more medications and adverse drug events lead to 1.3 million emergency departments within the United States every year. Formal medication reviews have been shown to reduce the prevalence and severity of this problem. An assisted living facility has no formal practice to review residents’ medication lists for appropriateness. Each resident takes an average of 5.2 medications and qualitative interviews suggest some of these medications are inappropriate.