Transcript Polypharmacy: A Look into Over Medicating

Polypharmacy:
A Look into Over Medicating
By: Megan Creson
What is Polypharmacy?


Simultaneously taking multiple medications
Found mostly within the elderly population
Occurrence of Polypharmacy
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Attempting to treat multiple illnesses
Attempting to control symptomatology
Attempting to accelerate the onset of action
or augment the effects of a preceding drug
Attempting to treat phasic illnesses
Attempting to prevent or treat adverse
effects of other drugs
10 Steps to Reducing Polypharmacy
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Have patients “brown bag” all medications at each office visit, and
keep an accurate record of all medications, including over-thecounter medication and herbs.
Get into the habit of identifying all drugs by generic name and drug
class.
Make certain the drug being prescribed has a clinical indication.
Know the side effect profile of the drugs being prescribed.
Understand how pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of aging
increase the risk of adverse drug events.
Stop any drug without known benefit.
Stop any drug without a clinical indication.
Attempt to substitute a less toxic drug.
Be aware of the prescribing cascade (treating an adverse drug
reaction as an illness with another drug).
As much as possible, use the motto, “one disease, one drug, once-aday.”
Tips for Patients to minimize risk of
Polypharmacy
Know your medications:
 What are their names?
 Why are you taking them?
 How should your medications be taken?
 What should you do if you miss a dose?
 What are their most common and most
serious side effects?
 What should you do if a problem arises?