A: Polypharmacy is defined as the concurrent use of multiple medicines either dispensed according to a prescription or bought over-the-counter.
A: Using multiple medicines concurrently can lead to problems such as the occurrence of adverse reactions, wastage, improper use, under-use or over-use of medicines.
A: If you are aged 65 or older, you are most probably taking one or more medicines prescribed to you by your doctor, as well as products that you can buy over-the-counter (OTC) without a prescription. While such medicines can help maintain health and prevent further illness, taking a combination of different medicines means that you can be at risk for unwanted interactions, which can result in adverse reactions. If you take medicines prescribed by doctors and answer 'yes' to any of the questions below, you can be at increased risk.
Do you take herbs, vitamins or OTC products?
Do you have to take medicine more than once a day?
Do you see different doctors for different conditions?
Do you use different pharmacies to fill your prescriptions?
Do you have poor eyesight or hearing?
Do you live alone?
Do you sometimes forget to take your medicine?