Dr. Beers in His Own Words

In 2004, five years prior to his passing, Beers was interviewed for an article in Caring for the Ages magazine. He started by noting that he had no idea that his list would be so influential and have such a widespread impact. He said, “Even when I published the criteria, I said the greatest usefulness was as an educational tool and that they should be used to inform doctors, nurses, and pharmacists about problems in drug use – whether this education was in a computerized system as I had planned or in schools as a beginning point for teaching geriatric pharmacy and pharmacology.”

Asked if he would do anything different if he were developing the criteria today, Beers said that he wouldn’t. He acknowledged that the initial focus was on nursing home residents; however, he saw the value of its use in other older adult populations. He said, “I think the criteria are evolving nicely.”

While he acknowledged that the criteria are useful to guide federal and state surveyors on safe medication use, Beers stressed, “I think the criteria shouldn’t be abused. I want to emphasize here that the thrust first and foremost should be educational and not punitive.” He added, “Punitive should be the very, very last thing ever done in the clinical practice of medicine.”

Beers further emphasized that the criteria were never meant to be restrictive. He explained, “We never said you should never use these drugs in the elderly. We just said that clinicians should think very, very careful about whether the drugs mentioned in the criteria are the best choice for their elderly patient.”

So many after its introduction, the Beers® Criteria continue to be a powerful, popular tool. It is cited in hundreds of research articles and referenced in conference presentations, webinars, and other educational programs. Buslovich said, “It is an incredibly useful and practical tool. It provides prescribers and others with a clinical-based foundation to support appropriate, safe medication regimens for older adults, in whatever setting they reside.”

Michael Wasserman, MD, CMD, interacted frequently with Beers over the years. He said, “I don’t ever recall his speaking about the criteria with any ego attached. He developed them, with other leaders in geriatrics, because it was the right thing to do. His name got attached to it over time, which is an incredible legacy for someone who left us way too soon.”

In a heartfelt editor’s note in a 2023 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Joseph Ouslander, MD, wrote in part, “Some 34 years ago, while a relatively junior faculty member in Geriatric Medicine at UCLA, I received a phone call from Dr. Donna Regenstreif, a senior program officer at the John A. Hartford Foundation, asking me if I would like to work as a mentor on a project with one of our new, young faculty members, Dr. Mark Beers. Little did I know then that this phone call would further stimulate my already passionate interest in improving drug therapy in the older population, and lead to the amazing body of work that has made the Beers Criteria what they are today.”

There is a lesson in the Beers Criteria that is often missed, said Smith. “Dr. Beers recognized that there was a widespread issue that needed attention, and he made an important and enduring contribution. Particularly younger practitioners should seek to recognize opportunities that arise and consider how they can help drive change or innovation.”