Polypharmacy

Polypharmacy - is the concurrent use of several drugs. Taking two drugs increases the risk of an adverse drug event by 6%; taking eight drugs increases the risk by 100%.

How Polypharmacy Develops
■ Medications being taken for no apparent reason.
■ Duplication; different medications being taken for same reason.
■ Concurrent use of interacting medications.
■ Contraindicated medications being taken.
■ Medications used to treat the side effects of other medications.
■ Medications are not discontinued after resolution of problem.

Assessment and Prevention
■ Have pharmacy and physician regularly review medications.
■ Take a complete medication history, including OTC, herbal and natural supplements.
■ Evaluate all medications for correct dose, duplication, and potential for drug-drug interactions.
■ Look up contraindications and drug-drug interactions of medications.
■ Coordinate care if multiple physicians are caring for the Pt.
■ Educate Pt and family about medication use.
■ Encourage Pts to use one pharmacy for all their prescriptions.
■ Help Pts develop a simple medication regimen.
■ Ensure that all pill bottles are easy to read and labeled correctly.
■ Encourage nonpharmacological treatments whenever possible.