What Is a Polypharmacy?
Polypharmacy or “many drugs” is a situation which occurs when a patient takes numerous drugs, both prescription and over the counter. This situation is most common in the elderly, as they often have complex medical conditions which necessitate the use of numerous medications for proper management, but it can happen in people of any age. Doctors make a distinction between studied and unstudied polypharmacy, or thoughtless versus thoughtful, to stress that sometimes polypharmacy occurs by necessity, and at other times, it can actually endanger the patient. The more drugs someone takes, the more he or she is at risk of adverse reactions. If a patient gets all prescriptions from the same doctor and fills them at the same pharmacy, any concerns about drug interactions are usually addressed quickly. However, when a patient gets prescriptions from several doctors who may not communicate, or fills prescriptions in multiple locations, or buys over the counter drugs such as aspirin, herbal medic
