Study Highlights Higher Medication Risks After Moving Into Aged Care
25 Jun 2026
The study, published in the Age and Ageing journal, analysed medication records from 167,850 Australians aged 65 years and older who entered long-term residential aged care.
Researchers examined "prescribing cascades", where a new medicine is prescribed to treat the side effects of another medicine because the reaction is mistaken for a new medical condition.
Before entering aged care, 16.7% of participants had experienced at least one prescribing cascade. After moving into residential aged care, this increased to 25.1%.
The study found that many of these prescribing cascades involved high-risk medicines, including antipsychotics, benzodiazepines and opioids.
Lead researcher Professor Gill Caughey from the Registry of Senior Australians Research Centre at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute and Flinders University said moving into residential aged care is one of the most vulnerable times for medication safety.
RACGP Specific Interests Aged Care Chair Dr Anthony Marinucci said the findings reinforce the need for careful medication management during the transition into aged care.
He noted that the study identified prescribing patterns rather than proving that one medicine directly caused another to be prescribed or that harm had occurred.
Dr Marinucci also said some prescribing patterns may reflect complex health conditions, frailty or other illnesses rather than prescribing errors alone.
He advised GPs to consider whether new symptoms after a medication change could be side effects and said every admission into residential aged care should include medication reconciliation and recommended that every person entering residential aged care receive a thorough medication review involving both the GP and pharmacist, with medicines adjusted where appropriate.