Concomitant use of multiple prescription drugs (‘polypharmacy‘) is increasingly common, with 10% of the population and 30% of older adults in the United States taking five or more drugs simultaneously. The prevalence of polypharmacy is driven by high rates of comorbidities (in the United States in 2012, 26% of all adults, and 61% of adults over 65 years of age had two or more chronic conditions), and exacerbated by clinical practices enabling overprescription and insufficient monitoring. Drug-related morbidity has become a substantial healthcare burden: in the United States, adverse drug reactions are prevalent (causing 4 hospitalizations per 1000 people each year), serious (among top 10 common causes of death), and expensive (with associated annual costs estimated at US$30billion to US$180billion).
In addition to increased healthcare costs with Polypharmacy you are at risks for more adverse drug events, more drug to drug reactions.
Medication non-adherence, impairment in functional status, cognitive impairment, falls, etc.
This is particularly a problem in the elderly, so much so the medical association has actually developed a criteria for Potentially Inappropriate Medications Use in Older Adults it’s called the Beers Criteria.
We here at Hamilton Behavioral work with all ages of patients working to reduce polypharmacy with more natural and holistic modalities.
Including Magnet therapy (TMS), Individual and Group counseling and by promoting the concept of Wellness.
Please contact us today to see how we may be able to benefit you in reducing your pharmacologic burden.
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