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NAME: Edward Schneider
TITLE: Emeritus Dean of the Andrus Gerontology Center; Professor of Gerontology, Medicine, and Biological Science, Demographics and Health Care
RESEARCH TOPICS:
1. Polypharmacy: overuse of drugs in the aging population
2. Long term care costs
3. Geriatrics
RESEARCH OVERVIEW: Edward Schneider, M.D. is a Professor of Gerontology at the Andrus Gerontology Center and a Professor of Medicine at the USC School of Medicine, with a joint appointment in Biological Sciences and Molecular Biology. Before coming to USC in 1986, Dr. Schneider was the Deputy Director of the National Institute on Aging and the Chief of the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Gerontology Research Center, National Institute on Aging. Dr. Schneider's research interests include: polypharmacy, geriatrics and health care costs of an aging population. Dr. Schneider sits on the editorial boards of more than half a dozen journals and was the first recipient of the William and Sylvia Kugel Chair of Gerontology.
Professor Edward Schneider and his team are looking at ways to reduce drug usage by older Americans because the more medications a person takes, the greater risk of drug-drug interactions or adverse drug reactions. Each year, 175,000 older adults, ages 65 and above are seen in Emergency Departments due to adverse drug reactions. About 15% of all hospitalizations in those 65 and older are due to drug reactions. Each year, 106,000 seniors die from drug problems.
The more medications a person takes, the greater the risk of a drug reaction or side effect. Two thirds of patient visits to a physician result in the writing of a new prescription. In 2005, the last year that we can get accurate data, 2.4 billion outpatient prescriptions were written. Patients who take 8 or more prescription medications have a 90% chance of experiencing a medication-related problem.
Our first studies are underway at the Los Angeles Jewish Home for the Aging to wean patients off anti-hypertensive medications to reduce their risk of falls.
EDUCATION: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Boston University School of Medicine
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