Alternative Treatments to Selected Medications in the 2023 American Geriatrics Society Beers Criteria

Document Overview

Document Title

Alternative Treatments to Selected Medications in the 2023 American Geriatrics Society Beers Criteria

Authoring Society

American Geriatrics Society

Document Publication Date

Jul 23, 2025

Page Last Reviewed/Updated

May 5, 2026

Document Type

Consensus Statement

Country of Publication

United States

Full Text Freely Available

Yes

Full Text Guideline

agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jgs.19500

Source Citation

American Geriatrics Society Beers Criteria® Alternatives Panel, M. A. Steinman, T. P. Semla, K. M. Akgün, et al., “ Alternative Treatments to Selected Medications in the 2023 American Geriatrics Society Beers Criteria®,” Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (2025): 1–21, https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.19500.

Supplemental Implementation Resources

• Beers Criteria Summary

Document Scope, Criteria, and Use Cases

Document Objectives

The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Beers Criteria® serve to identify medications whose potential for harm outweighs their intended benefit in older adults. This highlights the need for guidance not only on what therapies to avoid but also on readily available alternative treatment strategies. AGS thus convened a multidisciplinary, interprofessional panel to develop a list of these alternative treatment strategies for older adults based on guidelines and evidence, updating an earlier effort published in 2015. This report presents these in a manner intended to be easily usable by front-line clinicians facing common clinical scenarios. The list includes pharmacologic alternatives to medications on the AGS Beers Criteria® as well as non-pharmacologic management strategies that are often safer and equally or more effective than the potentially inappropriate medications they are replacing. Clinician, patient, and caregiver resources are also provided to support the implementation of alternative treatment strategies in clinical practice.

Scope

Counseling, Management, Prevention

Keywords

Beers Criteria, beers, beers list

Target Patient Population

Older adults receiving medical care in various settings

Target Provider Population

Geriatricians, pharmacists, and other clinicians caring for older adults

Inclusion Criteria

Male, Female, Older Adult

Health Care Settings

Ambulatory, Emergency Care, Home Health, Hospital, Long Term Care, Operating and Recovery Room, Outpatient

Intended Users

Community Pharmacist, Health-Systems Pharmacist, Nurse, Nurse Practitioner, Pharmacy Technician, Physician, Physician Assistant