Say No to Overmedication

How did we get to this state of widespread polypharmacy? It will be no surprise to learn that multiple contributing factors have been influencing medication use in the United States for years. Understanding the nature of these influences allows you to appreciate the breadth of the problem and be more prepared to stand up to these forces when feasible.

To begin with, as our population ages, there are more and more persons with multiple chronic conditions. Chronic health conditions go hand-in-hand with medication use. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), 69 percent of older adults are diagnosed with two or more chronic health conditions and 18 percent have six or more. In contrast, just 27 percent of adults age 18 and older report having more than one chronic health problem. Health conditions common among older adults include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease. The majority of these require drug therapy, and often more than one medication, as described earlier.