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Abstract
Objectives: To determine the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use and estimate the extra expenditures related to PIM among the U.S. elderly. Methods: Patients over 65 years were taken from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey through January 2000 to December 2001. A Retrospective cohort study was conducted. The prevalence of PIM was evaluated by the 2002 explicit criteria and the expenditures were estimated by employing multiple regression models and the propensity score method. Results: The prevalence of PIM among the non-institutionalized elderly in 2000, 2001 and 2-year period were 27.75%, 27.80% and 35.58%, respectively. The median expenditures attributable to PIM were $1,372 per person annually. Conclusions: This study found that the prevalence of PIM use among the elderly is slightly higher than the previous studies and identified significant relationship between the PIM use and higher total health care expenditures.