By David Martin – Acupuncture Physician, practicing Holistic medicine, in Fort Myers, Naples, Cape Coral.
A recent study released by the New England Journal of Medicine found that for people 65 and older an estimated 99,000 visits to the emergency room can be contributed to adverse drug events, between 2007 and 2009. Of this number half were over 80 years of age. Two thirds of the hospitalizations were due to unintentional overdoses. The top four medications responsible for these visits are Warfarin (33%), insulin (14%) antiplatelet agents (13%) and oral hypoglycemic agents (11%).
Apparently none of these medications are considered high risk because the report states that that only 1.2% of the hospital visits were due to “high risk” medications.
If you are taking these medications or know someone that is taking them, let them know about this report and remind them to be careful with their medications and to question their doctor thoroughly if he or she is adjusting their medication.
At Lotus Blossom Clinic we practice natural medicine and we can treat many problems with acupuncture which will have no effect on any of your current medications.
For further information reference the following study
Daniel S. Budnitz, M.D., M.P.H., Maribeth C. Lovegrove, M.P.H., Nadine Shehab, Pharm.D., M.P.H., and Chesley L. Richards, M.D., M.P.H.
N Engl J Med 2011; 365:2002-2012 November 24, 2011