Are You Taking Too Many Medications? How to Trim Your Prescription List

Too many seniors are prescribed too many drugs. About four of every 10 older adults take five or more medications, triple the rate from two decades ago. Almost 11 million Americans, or two of every 10 seniors, are on 10 or more drugs. As a career geriatrician, I’ve seen it firsthand: One of the best ways to improve your personal health is to work with your doctors to edit down your prescription list. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Polypharmacy—when one patient takes multiple drugs—is responsible for a vast but underpublicized American tragedy. Medication overload will contribute to the premature deaths of 150,000 seniors over the next decade, one study found, while causing the hospitalization of 750 seniors per day. It’s a sad but true reality of the medical business: Doctors often prescribe new drugs without knowing how they will interact with a patient’s existing medicine regime. How this happens is no mystery. Our siloed medical system means seniors often see many different doctors who don’t talk to each other. It’s not uncommon for people to be riding a conveyor belt of specialists who prescribe different medicines for heart conditions, bone issues, diabetes, depression, insomnia, and cancer. It’s as if a senior is a collection of ailments instead of a living, breathing whole person. Consider the example of an 85-year-old grandmother with mild memory problems. She lives alone with very few h...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized freelance healthscienceclimate Source Type: news