The Medicine, Health, and Aging Project
Multiple Prescription Drug Use and Health Outcomes Among the Elderly
Funding
PA Department of Aging / Penn State University
Period
1998
Principal Investigators
Frank Ahern, Ph.D.
Debra Heller, PhD.
Background
The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) is an independent state agency that addresses issues relating to health care costs, quality of health care, and equal access to health care for all Pennsylvanians. PHC4 receives and examines data relating to all hospitalizations in the state.
Objectives
This study has two objectives: (1) to evaluate the feasibility of linking PACE data on drug utilization with hospitalization data from PHC4 and mortality data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health; and (2) to conduct an epidemiological study of the association of concomitant use of multiple prescription drugs (polypharmacy) with hospitalization and mortality.