LONG-TERM CARE SENIORS TWICE AS LIKELY ON OPIOIDS

Seniors in long-term care facilities appeared to be twice as likely to be prescribed opioids compared to others their age and three times as likely to be on antidepressants, according to 2016 data in a new report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Almost 40 per cent of long-term care residents in B.C., Manitoba, New Brunswick, Ontario and P.E.I. were prescribed opioids, compared to 20.4 per cent of all seniors. The report noted residents “tend to be older, more frail and sicker” than seniors in the community.