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John B. Hoehn, MD
Walla Walla, Wash

JAMA. 1995;273(6):455.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.

—It was bad enough to have Dr Beers and colleagues¹ make up their list, it was worse to let Dr Willcox and her associates² attempt to apply it, but it is irresponsible for JAMA to let it appear under the title of "Inappropriate Drug Prescribing for the Community-Dwelling Elderly."

"Questionable," "controversial," "debatable," "innovative," "selective" drug prescribing, perhaps, but please spare my patients and my colleagues another damnation by statisticians who in their acknowledgment credit a sensational exposé book³ for the "inspiration" and "stimulation" for this report!

Everyone over 65 years of age who is prescribed diazepam receives an "inappropriate" drug? Including those who for decades have survived and thrived on 2 mg at bedtime? And those who get a prescription of 20 tablets of 5 mg once a year for occasional anxiety? And my patients with terminal conditions who find its long half-life the . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Footnotes
Edited by Drummond Rennie, MD, Deputy Editor (West), and Margaret A. Winker, MD, Senior Editor.

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