Managing inappropriate polypharmacy

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Key facts

Polypharmacy has now become the rule rather than the exception and can be appropriate or inappropriate
In the UK up to 11 per cent of unplanned hospital admissions are attributable to medication-related adverse events
Higher proportions of adults with multiple morbidities live in the most deprived communities
Polypharmacy becomes inappropriate when the risks of multiple medications begin to outweigh their potential benefits for an individual patient
A ‘7-Steps’ approach to medication review has been developed with patient groups and doctors, and pharmacists in primary and secondary care
Working through the seven steps may result in reducing or stopping medication that is no longer needed
The role of community pharmacists here depends on effective communication between GP surgery and pharmacy
The World Health Organization aims to reduce severe avoidable harm from medicines by half over the next five years.

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