WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Why more elderly patients are overdosing

November 23, 2011

Joan Slatkin is diabetic and takes six medications a day.

"Some I take breakfast, some I take lunch, some I take dinner," she said.

She's very careful-- even writes everything down to make sure she doesn't take the wrong dose.

"You really got to watch it... it can get a little complicated," she said.

A new study from the Centers for Disease Control finds that each year, nearly 100,000 adults over 65 end up in the emergency room because of the wrong combination or dose of their medications. Doctors say the mix-ups can lead to everything from allergic reactions to unintentional overdoses.

"Elderly patients are usually taking multiple medications that sometimes interact with each other and many of these patients end up in the hospital," said Dr. Jerome Tolbert of the Friedman Diabetes Institute.

The study found that most of the emergency hospitalizations were because of a few commonly used drugs, specifically blood thinners and diabetes medication.

Nearly half of the ER visits were for patients 80 or older. Doctors say elderly patients and their physicians need to stay informed about the meds they're taking and how their bodies react to them.

"Patients go to different doctors, doctors change medications that maybe you prescribed and you don't know that, you see, so it can be very confusing to the clinician as well as the patient," Tolbert said.

Joan Slatkin has never had a problem with her medications.

"You have to remember exactly what you're doing, what you took, what you need to take," she said.

Because she's cautious not to make a mistake.

The federal government has a website that teaches you how to create a pill card for anyone who has trouble keeping track of the medications. Click here for more.