Table 5.

Barriers to appropriate prescribing, with the number (percentage) of participants who cited the barrier in descending order

Proposed barriers to appropriate prescribing in elderly patients	n (%)
The patient is taking a large number of medications	71 (86.6)
Lack of formal education on prescribing for the elderly	64 (78)
Potential drug–drug interactions	59 (72)
Cost of medication	55 (67)
Limited options in the drug formularies	51 (62.2)
Lack of information about current patient’s medications	50 (61)
Lack of acceptable therapeutic alternatives	46 (56.1)
Difficulty in communicating with other healthcare providers involved in a patient’s care	46 (56.1)
Lack of time	36 (43.9)
The patient is unwilling to discontinue a medication prescribed by another physician	36 (43.9)
Lack of access to a pharmacist/physician	32 (39)
The patient requests to begin a specific medication	18 (22)