Even Doctors Complain about Polypharmacy

I suggest that you read this blog by Val Jones, MD. She tells the story of polypharmacy better than I can. The points she raises include:

• Patients are notorious for non-adherence
• Policy wonks say that more than half of patients do not take their medications as directed
• Missed opportunities to control chronic illnesses cost us billions of dollars and millions of quality life years annually

The reverse is just as serious:

• The costs of polypharmacy (over medication) is not known or discussed
• The unwanted side effects and medication interactions (both known and unknown) can be devastating
• An astonishing number of these incidents (falls and injury accidents) are related to drug side effects

Important factors to consider:

• There are costs to not taking medicines
• There are costs to taking medicines
• It is unknown how many injuries are accidentally prevented by patient non-adherence

This doctor considers it a victory each time she reduces the number of medications her patients use. What I like about this is she is not a geriatrician, but thinks like one. You should read her blogs on her website here.