How to Tell if You're Overprescribed Medications
Another name for overprescribing medications is polypharmacy. The issue is snowballing as Big Pharma continues to develop prescription medications in the hope of lengthening life expectancy without addressing the underlying issues of the chronic diseases that affect the population. Polypharmacy may be thought of as the use of multiple medications at the same time by one person. While the term is commonly used, there is not a single definition for polypharmacy.1 The term appears to have been in use for over 100 years according to one article that states it “was used over one and a half centuries ago to refer to issues related to multiple-drug consumption and excessive use of drugs.”2 According to a systematic review and BMC Geriatrics:3 “The most commonly reported definition of polypharmacy was the numerical definition of five or more medications daily, with definitions ranging from two or more to 11 or more medicines.” While there has been no consensus ...