Many elderly patients might be prescribed unnecessary medication, putting them at needless risk of side effects and costing millions, new studies have shown. A study described in the SA Medical Journal this month examined which drugs the elderly on medical aid schemes were most likely to be "inappropriately prescribed".In order of use, these were the female hormone oestrogen, painkillers and anti-depressants. Tranquillisers were also commonly prescribed.The study, by three academics in the faculty of health sciences at North West University, examined a year of medical aid claims by 103420 patients with an average age of 74.The report on the study states that "prescribing for older patients is a well-recognised problem, and inappropriate items are prescribed frequently".A review in the UK of 1800 over-75 patients found that at least a third were given too many pills and, on average, had been prescribed six drugs.After a review, hundreds of prescriptions were cancelled because the medication was no longer effective and dozens of patients were experiencing side effects.Up to a third of the patients were taken off at least one drug, the most common of which were blood-thinning drugs warfarin, clopidogrel and aspirin, and alendronic, cetirizine, laxido, omeprazole for gastric reflux, and adcal-d3.The researchers predicted that the changes would save around £192000 (about R3.3-million) a year...