Polypharmacy is defined as the regular use of 5 or more prescription drug/ medications. This is quite often seen among elderly group of patients. The prevalence of polypharmacy in Malaysia has been estimated to be between 45.9% to 80.6%. This is likely attributed to many elderly patients having multiple chronic health issues and each health issue requires its own separate treatment. This matter is worsened when the patient buys medications or supplements over the counter.
The problem with polypharmacy is that it can impair adherence and cause compliance issues which is a significant challenge among patients, particularly in the elderly population. Another major concern arising from polypharmacy is the risk of adverse effects resulting from drug-drug/ drug-food/ drug-disease interactions. Adverse effects like dizziness, instability, falls, kidney/ liver impairments, rapid fluctuations in blood pressure/ blood sugar or even bleeding complications can occur.
Therefore during each consultation in the Internal Medicine Clinic, the physician will always review a patient’s health status and also review all medications the patient is currently taking to ensure that the patient is getting the appropriate response from their treatments. During the consultation, the physician will also try to identify potential adverse effects that may occur while the patient is on treatment. By doing this, the physician is able to identify areas in the treatment regimen, to begin the process of de-prescribing.
The term de-prescribing refers to a planned reduction/ tapering of medication dosages or stopping of non-essential medications. This is aimed at reducing the overall number of pills the patient is taking. This process has to be done under supervision by a medical expert to ensure that the patient’s safety and welfare is maintained at all times. It is not advisable for patients to self-reduce or self-stop any prescription medications before consulting their physician. Patients are therefore advised to always remember to bring all their medications for review during each medical consultation so that the physician can review those medicines and advice the patient appropriately/ accurately.
If you or your loved ones have issues with polypharmacy or any trouble with medications that are being consumed and would like a physician’s review of your health and treatment, please reach out to Dr Chew’s Internal Medicine Clinic via the following contact (04-7342888/2012) to fix an appointment. Kindly remember to bring all the medications consumed (preferrably with their labels/ packaging intact for easier identification) and bring along any laboratory results. This will enable a more comprehensive understanding of your current health situation and allow for a better and more accurate recommendation on the best treatment that you should be getting.
