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September 27, 2021
Recently, I talked with Todd King from Omnicare to explain polypharmacy, its threat to the senior population, and what patients and health care providers can do to stop it.
The National Council on Aging reports that approximately 80% of older adults have at least one chronic disease and 77% have at least two. Research shows that roughly 25% of people ages 65 to 69 take at least five prescription drugs to treat chronic conditions, and that number jumps to 46% for those between 70 and 79. Those numbers don’t include any over-the-counter medications, vitamins or supplements, which might also cause a myriad of side effects or drug interactions.
There are three types of polypharmacy:
Some medications pose more of a threat than others. Closely monitoring for drug reactions, eliminating unnecessary or potentially dangerous medications, and optimizing non-medical treatments will decrease the risk of polypharmacy.
Polypharmacy can lead to increased healthcare costs, increased hospitalization, poor drug adherence or increased side effects and drug interactions. In most dangerous cases, drug side effects may be mistaken for a new medical condition, and then treated with a new prescription.
These conditions can put you more at risk for polypharmacy:
Any of these issues can increase the dangers of polypharmacy, which includes symptoms such as cognitive impairment, frailty, low blood sugar, low blood pressure, weight loss, urinary incontinence, falls and fractures or bleeding.
Patients and clinicians can work together to decrease the risk of polypharmacy. Here are a few tips:
Polypharmacy is complicated, but closely monitoring for side effects and communication between patients and physicians can lower the risk.
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