2022 Volume 18 Issue 2 Pages 202-211
The increased incidence of multiple concurrent medical conditions in elderly people means that this population is also at increased risk for polypharmacy and the adverse drug events (ADEs) it can lead to. The problem of polypharmacy cannot be solved without identifying and eliminating the inappropriately prescribed combinations of medications that lead to ADEs, of course, but the causes of polypharmacy also include factors related to daily life, such as patients' activities of daily living and the circumstances in which they live. Therefore, doctors cannot be expected to take full responsibility for protecting their patients from polypharmacy without the help of other medical staff. Pharmacists can play an important role in this respect by collaborating with other medical staff to identify unnecessary medication and to implement efforts to improve medication adherence.
