The Beers Criteria approach to prescribing for older adults emphasizes:

• A. Avoiding all medications in older adults.
• B. Identifying potentially inappropriate medications and considering safer alternatives.
• C. Focusing only on medication cost.
• D. Stopping all medications started before age 65.

Answer: (B)

Beers Criteria focuses on safety in prescribing for older adults by flagging medications that may be inappropriate due to age-related changes and higher vulnerability to adverse effects. The best choice captures this aim: it emphasizes identifying potentially inappropriate medications and considering safer alternatives. This means clinicians review each drug for risk versus benefit in older patients, adjust dosing for kidney function and interactions, and prefer safer substitutes or nonpharmacologic approaches when possible. It is not about avoiding every medication, stopping all meds started before a certain age, or focusing mainly on cost. In practice, the goal is to reduce adverse events and improve quality of care by guiding safer, more tailored prescribing.