Polypharmacy

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Polypharmacy (polypragmasia) is an umbrella term to describe the simultaneous use of multiple medicines by a patient for their conditions. The term polypharmacy is often defined as regularly taking five or more medicines, but there is no standard definition, and the term has also been used when a person is prescribed 2 or more medications at the same time. Polypharmacy may be the consequence of having multiple long-term conditions, also known as multimorbidity. Both are more common in the elderly. Polypharmacy may increase the risk of an adverse event in elderly populations and/or those with many chronic comorbidities. In many cases, polypharmacy cannot be avoided, but 'appropriate polypharmacy' practices are encouraged to decrease the risk of adverse effects. Appropriate polypharmacy is defined as polypharmacy in which medications prescribed are optimized, necessary, and follow 'best evidence' practices. The prevalence of polypharmacy is estimated to be between 10% and 90% depending on the definition used, the age group studied, and the geographic location. Polypharmacy continues to grow in importance because of aging populations. Many countries are experiencing a fast growth of the older population, 65 years and older. This growth is a result of the baby-boomer generation getting older and an increased life expectancy as a result of ongoing improvement in health care services worldwide. About 21% of adults with intellectual disability are also exposed to polypharmacy. The level of polypharmacy has been increasing in the past decades. Research in the USA shows that the percentage of patients greater than 65 years-old using more than 5 medications increased from 24% to 39% between 1999 and 2012. Similarly, research in the UK found that the number of older people taking 5 plus medication had quadrupled from 12% to nearly 50% between 1994 and 2011. Polypharmacy is not necessarily ill-advised, but it can lead...