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January 1, 2012The Medical Journal of Australia202 citations

A national census of medicines use: a 24‐hour snapshot of Australians aged 50 years and older

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TMTessa MorganMWMargaret WilliamsonMPMarie Pirotta

Key Points

  • To assess daily medicine consumption patterns, polypharmacy prevalence, and the extent of preventive and self-directed medication use among older adults.
  • Conducted a national 24-hour census snapshot measuring medicine intake across individuals aged 50 years and older.
  • Evaluated the proportions of physician-prescribed versus self-directed medications and compared overall utilization rates against historical baseline data from the 1995 National Health Survey.
  • Multiple medicine use and polypharmacy rates were substantially elevated compared to historical figures from the 1995 National Health Survey.
  • A large proportion of current medicine use was directed toward disease prevention and risk factor management.
  • Physicians recommended or prescribed the majority of medicines, but self-directed medication use remained common across the surveyed population.

Abstract

The use of multiple medicines is common and higher than reported in the 1995 National Health Survey. Today, much medicines use is to prevent future disease by influencing risk factors. High levels of polypharmacy highlight the need to support the safe and effective use of medicines in the community. Although doctors recommend or prescribe most medicines, self-directed medication use is common. This highlights the need for consumer access to accurate information and strategies to improve health literacy about medicines.

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Cite This Study

Morgan et al. (2012) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69dd260aaa9a964e8d133800https://doi.org/10.5694/mja11.10698
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