Medication safety guide
What is the AGS Beers Criteria? A caregiver guide
The AGS Beers Criteria® is an evidence-based clinical resource used to identify medications and medication situations that may deserve extra caution or review in many older adults. It is not a list of medicines that are automatically unsafe for everyone.
ConcordMeds is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by the American Geriatrics Society.
What is the AGS Beers Criteria?
The AGS Beers Criteria® is a clinical reference developed and maintained by the American Geriatrics Society to help healthcare professionals identify medications that may be potentially inappropriate for many adults aged 65 and older.
The criteria are designed to support safer prescribing and medication review. They help clinicians consider whether a medicine should be avoided, used with caution, reviewed because of a person's medical conditions, reviewed for interactions, or adjusted because of reduced kidney function.
What does “potentially inappropriate medication” mean?
It does not mean a medication is always wrong or dangerous.
It means that, for many older adults, the potential risks of a medicine may outweigh its expected benefits in certain circumstances, or that additional caution or monitoring may be appropriate.
A medicine may still be the right treatment for an individual person depending on their diagnosis, previous treatment, goals, alternatives and overall clinical situation.
Who are the criteria intended for?
The AGS Beers Criteria® are primarily a clinical tool for healthcare professionals caring for older adults.
Caregivers may encounter the criteria when a doctor, pharmacist, medication-review service or digital health tool identifies a medicine that deserves additional review.
What kinds of medication situations do the criteria cover?
The 2023 AGS update organizes recommendations into five broad areas.
Medicines to avoid in most older adults
Some medications or medication classes may carry risks that generally outweigh expected benefit for many older adults.
Medicines affected by certain health conditions
A medicine may be problematic when a person has a particular disease or clinical condition.
Medicines to use with caution
Some treatments may still be appropriate but deserve closer consideration because of possible adverse effects.
Drug-drug interactions
Certain combinations may increase the risk of harm when used together.
Kidney function
Some medicines may need dose adjustment or avoidance when kidney function is reduced.
Does a Beers Criteria flag mean a medicine should be stopped?
A caregiver should not stop, reduce or change a prescription because a medicine appears in the AGS Beers Criteria® or because an app identifies a potential concern. The medicine should be reviewed with the prescribing doctor or pharmacist.
The AGS itself emphasizes person-centered decision-making. Appropriate treatment depends on the individual older adult, not only on whether a medication appears in a screening resource.
Why are there different categories instead of one “unsafe list”?
Medication risk is contextual.
A medicine can be reasonable for one person and less appropriate for another because of differences in medical conditions, kidney function, other medicines, previous treatment response or goals of care.
That is why ConcordMeds should describe these findings as potential concerns for review, rather than declaring that a medicine is dangerous.
How often is the AGS Beers Criteria updated?
The current AGS criteria referenced by the American Geriatrics Society were published in 2023.
For that update, the expert panel reviewed more than 1,500 clinical trials and research studies published between 2017 and 2022.
In 2025, AGS published a companion resource describing alternatives to selected medications in the 2023 criteria. That resource complements the criteria rather than replacing them.
What should a caregiver do when a medicine is flagged?
Useful questions for a doctor or pharmacist
- Why is this medicine being used?
- Does the benefit still outweigh the risk for this person?
- Does another medical condition affect whether this medicine is appropriate?
- Could it interact with another medicine on the current list?
- Does kidney function affect the dose or choice of treatment?
- Are there reasonable alternatives?
- What symptoms or side effects should the family watch for?
Why does the complete medication list matter?
A safety criterion is much less useful when the medication record is incomplete.
If prescriptions come from several doctors, a caregiver may need to bring those records together so that interactions, duplicate medicines, dose changes and discontinued treatments can be reviewed in context.
Medication reconciliation for caregivers →How does polypharmacy relate to the Beers Criteria?
Polypharmacy refers to the use of multiple medicines, while the AGS Beers Criteria® considers the appropriateness of particular medications and medication situations.
They are related topics, but they are not the same thing. A person can take several appropriate medicines, while another person taking fewer medicines may still have one that warrants review.
Polypharmacy in older adults →How ConcordMeds approaches Beers Criteria screening
ConcordMeds is designed to help caregivers identify potential medication concerns and bring those concerns into a professional medication review.
It does not replace the clinical judgment required to decide whether a medication is appropriate for a specific older adult.
Verified evidence
Sources
Last evidence review: 6 September 2026
ConcordMeds uses authoritative clinical, government and peer-reviewed sources for medical content. These references support the educational information on this page.
- American Geriatrics Society. 2023 AGS Beers Criteria® for Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Adults — Official AGS overview of the 2023 criteria, including the five major recommendation categories and evidence-review process.
- American Geriatrics Society. Guidelines & Recommendations — Current AGS resource page listing the AGS Beers Criteria® and related clinical guidance.
- American Geriatrics Society. Alternative Treatments to Selected Medications in the 2023 AGS Beers Criteria® — 2025 AGS companion resource offering evidence-based alternatives for selected medications covered by the 2023 criteria.
ConcordMeds does not treat screening criteria or educational information as a diagnosis or a reason to start, stop or change medication without professional review.
AGS Beers Criteria® is a registered trademark of the American Geriatrics Society. ConcordMeds is not affiliated with or endorsed by the American Geriatrics Society.