Aust Prescr
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Inappropriate opioid prescribing can lead to patient harm as well as a medicolegal risk to prescribers. Prescribers need to be familiar with the indications, contraindications and harms associated with opioids. ⋯ Failure to comply with these can result in disciplinary action. To avoid potential conflict with differing state regulations on opioid prescribing, doctors should advise patients to get their prescription dispensed in the same state in which it was written.
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People with dementia of any type have a high incidence of major depression. The occurrence of a first major depressive episode in an older adult is a risk factor for developing dementia. ⋯ Non-pharmacological and pharmacological strategies are both important in treating depression in dementia and management of these patients requires a collaborative approach. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are the first-line pharmacotherapy for depression in dementia, although they are less likely to be effective in older people.