Polypharmacy Essay

Webster’s dictionary defines polypharmacy as the practice of administering or using multiple medications. Polypharmacy is seen often in older adults, because they often have multiple doctors that may not communicate resulting in the over medication of the patient. Then the doctors begin to treat the adverse effects of medications they did not know the patient was even prescribed for example if a patient is prescribed a medication to lower their blood pressure from a cardiac doctor the patient may return to their family care doctor with a blood pressure that is too low. The family care doctor may prescribe a medication that will raise their blood pressure, now the patient will be taking two medications that have opposing affects. Another effect

During the years of 1999-2000 only 6.3 percent of Americans used five or more medications, and then in the years of 2007-2008 about 10.7 percent of Americans used five or more medications, that is a 4.4 percent increase. In the last decade alone the use of five or more medications has increased 70 percent. Creating the stronger need for healthcare providers to communicate about the care of their patients is becoming evident. However in recent years more hospitals are using electronic medical records that can be sent to each healthcare provider, this helps the patient relive some of the stress in remembering what all medications they take and the dosages they are taking. Also healthcare providers can now see when their patient was last in to see another doctor and what there diagnosis was creating a more stable health system and less medication reactions. Although there is always room error but if every hospital adopts this system there is a good possibility that polypharmacy may be a thing of the past. Polypharmacy is becoming a fatal epidemic for the elderly, it is pertinent to know the risks and ways to prevent