"Identifying Information: Name","Percentage Rate of Chronic Beers Drug Use Among Seniors on Public Drug Programs" "Identifying Information: Short/Other Names","Not applicable" "Identifying Information: Description","The rate of seniors who are chronic users (defined as those with at least 2 claims and 180 days' supply over a year) of at least 1 drug from the Beers list (a commonly used list of drugs that are identified as potentially inappropriate to prescribe to seniors due to an elevated risk of adverse effects)" "Background, Interpretation and Benchmarks: Rationale","Seniors are at greater risk for adverse drug reactions (ADRs) as well as other types of drug-related adverse events due to the number of drugs they take, the higher prevalence of certain chronic conditions and age-related changes in the body. The higher prevalence of chronic conditions does contribute to the number of drugs seniors take. However, it is important to evaluate the appropriateness of each medication prescribed. The Beers list is a commonly used list of drugs identified as potentially inappropriate to prescribe to seniors because they are ineffective, they pose unnecessarily high risk for older persons or a safer alternative is available." "Background, Interpretation and Benchmarks: Interpretation","This indicator is interpreted as the rate of seniors who have chronic use of a medication identified as potentially inappropriate to prescribe to seniors because it is either ineffective or it poses unnecessarily high risk for older persons and a safer alternative is available. It should be noted that there may be cases where it is appropriate for seniors to take drugs on the Beers list. There may be differences in population characteristics (such as age and health status) between seniors with and without public coverage. In provinces where a lower proportion of seniors have claims accepted by the public plan, drug utilization patterns among those with public coverage are more likely to be affected by these differences and, therefore, may be less reflective of utilization patterns among all seniors in the province." "Background, Interpretation and Benchmarks: HSP Framework Dimension","Appropriate and effective" "Background, Interpretation and Benchmarks: Areas of Need","Living With Illness, Disability or Reduced Function" "Background, Interpretation and Benchmarks: Targets/Benchmarks","Not applicable" "Available Data Years","2000 to 2016" "Available Data Years: Type of Year",Calendar "Availability of Results: Geographic Coverage","Newfoundland and Labrador" "Reporting Level/Disaggregation",Province/Territory "Result Updates: Indicator Results","Drug Use Among Seniors on Public Drug Programs in Canada" "Update Frequency: Other frequency:","Whenever required for analytical product or data request" "Result Updates: Latest Results Update Date","May 2018" "Result Updates: Updates","Not applicable" "Indicator Calculation: Description","The total number of seniors with at least 2 claims and 180 days' supply for a drug from the Beers list that was accepted by a public drug program divided by the total number of seniors with at least 1 claim for any drug accepted by a public drug program" "Indicator Calculation: Type of Measurement","Percentage or proportion" "Denominator: Description:","Total number of seniors with at least one claim accepted by a public drug program" "Denominator: Inclusions:","All seniors (age 65 and older)" "Denominator: Exclusions:","All non-seniors (age younger than 65)" "Numerator: Description:","Total number of senior claimants with at least 2 claims and 180 days' supply for a drug from the Beers list accepted by a public drug program" "Numerator: Inclusions:","All seniors (age 65 and older) with at least 2 claims and 180 days' supply for a drug from the Beers list" "Numerator: Exclusions:","All non-seniors (age younger than 65) Seniors without at least 2 claims and 180 days' supply of a drug from the Beers list" "Method of Adjustment","Direct standardization" "Method of Adjustment: Direct Standardization - Standard Population","Standard population: Canadian seniors population (Statistics Canada, Demography Division, CANSIM table)" "Adjustment Applied",Age-sex-adjusted "Indicator Calculation: Geographic Assignment","Place of residence" "Data Sources","NPDUIS Database" "Quality Statement: Caveats and Limitations","The National Prescription Drug Utilization Information System (NPDUIS) Database includes claims accepted by public drug programs, either for reimbursement or toward a deductible. Claims are included regardless of whether or not the patient actually used the drugs. The NPDUIS Database does not include information regarding Prescriptions that were written but never dispensed Prescriptions that were dispensed but for which the associated drug costs were not submitted to or not accepted by the public drug programs Diagnoses or conditions for which prescriptions were written The NPDUIS Database contains claims data from public drug programs in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador and Yukon. The First Nations and Inuit ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ Branch (FNIHB), a federal drug program, also submits data, which comes from all Canadian provinces and territories (including those not listed above)." "Quality Statement: Trending Issues","All data is not available for all years: Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, New Brunswick: From January 2000 Nova Scotia: From April 2001 Prince Edward Island: From April 2004 British Columbia: From January 2006 Yukon: From January 2007 Newfoundland and Labrador: From April 2008 Ontario: From April 2010 First Nations and Inuit ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ Branch: From October 2010" "Quality Statement: Comments","Not applicable" References,"Not applicable"