General Prescribing Problems in Elderly Diabetic Patients

The same general principles apply to prescribing for elderly diabetic patients as for non-diabetic patients. In the great majority of instances the prescription of drugs and adverse reactions to them are no different, but there are a number of particular problems. The difficulties that elderly patients have with compliance with drug therapy are perhaps somewhat greater in the elderly diabetic patients, who may have to take medication for diabetes in addition to that for other conditions. There is thus an inevitable tendency towards multiple drug therapy, which is one of the main contributory factors both to the occurrence of adverse drug reactions and to the patient’s difficulty with compliance. Other common causes of the latter include poor vision (to which diabetic eye problems may contribute), poor manipulative skills in the hands, and, most important of all, intellectual impairment.