The dangers of ignoring the Beers criteria—the prescribing cascade.
The Beers criteria serve as a standard guidance to inform prescribing decisions in older patients to protect against adverse drug reactions. Written by a registered pharmacist, this commentary relates insights regarding how use of the Beers criteria could have prevented a misdiagnosis in her elderly mother. The author highlights the responsibilities of pharmacists and prescribers to use the list as appropriate to ensure patient safety.