Table 1.

Characteristics of Patients (n = 932) and Visits (n = 2,103) Seen by 61 Participating Physicians

Patient characteristics
    Age (years)
        65–74625 (67.1)
        ≥75307 (32.9)
    Female sex591 (63.4)
    Race
        White521 (55.9)
        Black380 (40.8)
        Other*31 (3.3)
    Index conditions
        Hypertension794 (85.2)
        Hyperlipidemia618 (66.3)
        Osteoarthritis506 (54.3)
        Gastroesophageal reflux363 (38.9)
        Diabetes mellitus334 (35.8)
        Depression315 (33.8)
    Commonly prescribed PIMs†
    Cyclobenzaprine45 (4.8)
    Meclizine39 (4.2)
    Hydroxyzine35 (3.8)
    Estrogens33 (3.5)
    Clonazepam29 (3.1)
    Paroxetine29 (3.1)
    Diphenhydramine28 (3.0)
    Lorazepam26 (2.8)
    Amitriptyline24 (2.6)
    Zolpidem16 (1.7)
Encounter characteristics
    Prescriptions per visit
        0–4283 (13.5)
        5–9774 (36.8)
        10–14690 (32.8)
        ≥15356 (16.9)
    PIMs per visit
        01357 (64.5)
        1–3712 (33.9)
        4–633 (1.6)
        ≥71 (0.1)

  • Data are number (%) of patients or visits.

  • ↵* “Other” includes Asian and others.

  • ↵† Potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) were defined based on the table 2 of 2015 American Geriatrics Society Beers Criteria for Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Adults.6