Does polypharmacy indicate inappropriate prescribing?
Many older people have multiple diseases and symptoms that can and should be treated with medications, so polypharmacy does not necessarily indicate that prescribing is in any way incorrect. The total number of drugs used by a person is a poor marker of the quality of care. Each prescribed drug should be the result of a careful benefit/risk analysis. Selecting an analgesic with the least invasive route of delivery and the lowest side-effect profile is appropriate to minimize risks. Q: Adverse drug reactions and interactions increase when more medications are taken. What can be done to reduce drug-interactions? A: Reducing the overall number of medications can help avoid drug-drug interactions which tend to increase with the age of the patients. When more medications are administered than clinically indicated, drug discontinuation may be appropriate. An average of 2.8 drugs per elderly patient, including NSAIDS, were discontinued in a study to improve quality of care in nursing homes; t
