Geriatrics is a branch of medicine dealing with the physiologic characteristics of aging and the diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting the aged.

In most of the countries in the world including India cut-off point for geriatric age is 60 yrs. Recent increase  in the proportion and number of elderly in many developing countries have drawn attention to issues concerning the morbidity profile of this potentially vulnerable age group.

As per the 1991 census the elderly population in India was 57 million as compared with 20 million in 1951.As per 2011 census there are nearly 104 million elderly persons; 53 million female and 51 million males. It has been projected that by the year 2050, the number of elderly people would rise to about 324 million. More than half of the geriatric people are suffering from any sort of physical morbidity.

The 2012 American Geriatrics Society Beers Criteria, they include lists of potentially inappropriate medications to be avoided in older adults. New to the criteria are lists of select drugs that should be avoided or have their dose adjusted based on the individual’s kidney function and select drug–drug interactions documented to be associated with harm in older adults. The specific aim was to have a 13-member interdisciplinary panel of experts in geriatric care and pharmacotherapy update the 2012 AGS Beers Criteria using a modified Delphi method to systematically review and grade the evidence and reach a consensus on each existing and new criterion. The process followed an evidence-based approach using Institute of Medicine standards. The 2015 AGS Beers Criteria are applicable to all older adults with the exclusion of those in palliative and hospital care.

The intentions of the criteria include:

1) Improving the selection of prescription drugs by clinicians and patients;

2) Evaluating patterns of drug use within populations;

3) Educating clinicians and patients on proper drug usage; and

4) Evaluating health-outcome, quality of care, cost, and utilization data.

     Purpose of the study:

 The present study intends to study drug utilization pattern in geriatric patients of medicine outpatient department using WHO core indicators & study exposure rates & compare with Beer’s criteria.