Literally, this means “the simultaneous use of multiple drugs by a single patient for one or more conditions.”
There are now patients coming into my office who are taking upward of eleven or twelve different medications. Often their meds are prescribed by different doctors, and there may be no one doctor who is overseeing or coordinating the mix. Potential harmful drug interactions are not being monitored, and the patient is subject to a myriad of side effects of the various drugs.
Sometimes the pharmacist who fills the patient’s prescriptions may be serving as overseer or monitor, but this is not always the case.
For patients on multiple medications, I advise them to talk with their primary care physician about making sure some caregiver is fulfilling this role.
