MEDSCAPE – A new tool presented at the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting may give clinicians practical and safer alternatives to risky medications for patients.
Developed as a companion to the widely cited AGS Beers Criteria, the new Alternatives List was unveiled by a panel of clinicians and researchers who spent months identifying and reviewing safer options for high-risk medications.
The list has pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic approaches and is tailored to the realities of treating geriatric patients.
Originally updated in 2023, the AGS Beers Criteria outlines medications that may be inappropriate for use in older adults who are not receiving end-of-life care.
“The real goal is to help older adults feel better and function better while reducing the risk of medication harms,” said Michael Steinman, MD, geriatrician and professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco, who led the development of the list.
Eight workgroups covered 21 conditions commonly linked to potentially inappropriate medications, such as insomnia, anxiety, and allergic rhinitis.
“Treatments for common conditions are often not well-studied in older adults, and practice guidelines often give little information on how approaches to treating these conditions should be modified to meet the unique needs of older adults,” Steinman told Medscape Medical News.
Each entry on the list includes commonly used medications flagged in the Beers Criteria, safer nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic alternatives, and resources for clinicians and patients.
“We focused on what clinicians actually see and treat every day,” Steinman said. “If someone’s taking diphenhydramine for sleep or allergies, what should we be recommending instead? That’s what this tool answers.”
Judith Beizer, PharmD, clinical professor of pharmacology at St. John’s University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in New York City, highlighted treatment considerations for gastroesophageal reflux disease, a condition often treated with medications deemed high-risk for older adults …
