Sedative prescriptions for older adults vary by location

A new study shows wide variation in prescriptions of sedative drugs, called benzodiazepines, to people with Medicare coverage. Some counties, especially in southern and rural western states, had three times the level of sedative prescribing as others. The study also highlights gaps at the level of individual prescribers: Some primary care providers prescribed sedatives more than six times more often than their peers. These high-intensity prescribers also tended to be high-intensity prescribers of opioid painkillers.

Source: Medicating distress: Risky sedative prescriptions for older adults vary widely