Appropriateness of Vitamin and Mineral Prescription Orders for Residents of Health Related Facilities*

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Abstract
The medical charts of 433 elderly patients admitted to 4 health related facilities in upper New York State [USA] were studied to determine whether prescription orders for vitamins and minerals were appropriate to diagnoses and to identify the reasons for inappropriateness. For 11.1% of the patients, vitamins or minerals were presscribed with no specific diagnostic indication, or they were not prescribed when the medical diagnosis indicated such. Women and Medicaid patients were more likely than men and self-paying patients to be treated inappropriately with respect to vitamins and minerals, but the differences were not statistically significant.