Polypharmacy

Question 1

What is polypharmacy

Answer 1

Concurrent use of multiple
medication items by one
person

Question 2

Causes of polypharmacy

Answer 2

Ageing population
Poor communication
Promoted by the use of guidelines
Lack of shared decision making
Poor adherence
Prescibing cascade 
Self medication

Question 3

Appropiate polypahrmacy

Answer 3

prescribing for an individual for complex conditions or
for multiple conditions in circumstances where
medicines use has been optimised and where the
medicines are prescribed according to best evidence

Question 4

Problematic Polypharmacy

Answer 4

prescribing of multiple medications inappropriately,
or where the intended benefit of the medication is not
realised.

Question 5

Consequences of polypharmacy

Answer 5

↑Individual burden
↑ Risk of medication errors
↑ Side-effects
↑ Drug Interactions
Lowered adherance
 Adverse Drug Reactions

Question 6

What is deprescribing

Answer 6

The systematic process of
identifying and discontinuing drugs
in instances in which existing or potential harms
outweigh existing or potential benefits,
within the context of an individual patient’s
care goals, current level of functioning ,
life expectancy, values and preferences’

Question 7

Two types of de-prescribing

Answer 7

• Reactive: In response to existing harms
•
• Proactive: Undertaken to prevent future
potential harms