Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • COVID-19
    • Articles & podcasts
    • Blog posts
    • Collection
    • News
  • Content
    • Current issue
    • Past issues
    • Early releases
    • Collections
    • Sections
    • Blog
    • Infographics & illustrations
    • Podcasts
    • Classified ads
  • Authors
    • Overview for authors
    • Submission guidelines
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Forms
    • Editorial process
    • Editorial policies
    • Peer review process
    • Publication fees
    • Reprint requests
  • CMA Members
    • Overview for members
    • Earn CPD Credits
    • Print copies of CMAJ
    • Career Ad Discount
  • Subscribers
    • General information
    • View prices
  • Alerts
    • Email alerts
    • RSS
  • JAMC
    • À propos
    • Numéro en cours
    • Archives
    • Sections
    • Abonnement
    • Alertes
  • CMAJ JOURNALS
    • CMAJ Open
    • CJS
    • JAMC
    • JPN

User menu

Search

  • Advanced search
CMAJ
  • CMAJ JOURNALS
    • CMAJ Open
    • CJS
    • JAMC
    • JPN
CMAJ

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • COVID-19
    • Articles & podcasts
    • Blog posts
    • Collection
    • News
  • Content
    • Current issue
    • Past issues
    • Early releases
    • Collections
    • Sections
    • Blog
    • Infographics & illustrations
    • Podcasts
    • Classified ads
  • Authors
    • Overview for authors
    • Submission guidelines
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Forms
    • Editorial process
    • Editorial policies
    • Peer review process
    • Publication fees
    • Reprint requests
  • CMA Members
    • Overview for members
    • Earn CPD Credits
    • Print copies of CMAJ
    • Career Ad Discount
  • Subscribers
    • General information
    • View prices
  • Alerts
    • Email alerts
    • RSS
  • JAMC
    • À propos
    • Numéro en cours
    • Archives
    • Sections
    • Abonnement
    • Alertes
  • Visit CMAJ on Facebook
  • Follow CMAJ on Twitter
  • Follow CMAJ on Pinterest
  • Follow CMAJ on Youtube
  • Follow CMAJ on Instagram
Practice

Patient sheet: Tips for avoiding problems with polypharmacy

David B. Hogan and Marilyn Kwan
CMAJ October 10, 2006 175 (8) 876; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.060888
David B. Hogan
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Marilyn Kwan
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Tables
  • Responses
  • Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Many drugs are used today for the prevention and treatment of diseases and other medical conditions. They are either prescribed by health care practitioners, including doctors and dentists, or are available over the counter without a prescription. More and more patients are also taking natural health products (e.g., herbal remedies and dietary supplements). Each of these drugs and natural health products can cause side effects or can react with other drugs.

Elderly patients tend to have medical conditions that require them to take multiple drugs (polypharmacy). With each additional medication taken, they are at increased risk of adverse reactions from side effects and from interactions between drugs. Polypharmacy can also make drug regimens complex and difficult to follow correctly.

The tips in Box 1 emphasize the importance of knowledge, communication and organization and should help patients minimize their risk of adverse reactions from polypharmacy.

Figure1
  • Download figure
  • Open in new tab
  • Download powerpoint

Box 1.

Footnotes

  • Polypharmacy is a major problem among elderly patients. In the spirit of helping patients and their families to better uderstand the problem and how to deal with it, we offer this special Public Health column, directed to a lay audience. We hope that you will share this article with anyone in your practice for whom the suggestions listed may be helpful. — Editor, CMAJ

    Competing interests: None declared.

PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Canadian Medical Association Journal: 175 (8)
CMAJ
Vol. 175, Issue 8
10 Oct 2006
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
  • Canadian Adverse Reaction Newsletter (p 1013 - 1020)

Article tools

Respond to this article
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
To sign up for email alerts or to access your current email alerts, enter your email address below:
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on CMAJ.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Patient sheet: Tips for avoiding problems with polypharmacy
(Your Name) has sent you a message from CMAJ
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the CMAJ web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
Patient sheet: Tips for avoiding problems with polypharmacy
David B. Hogan, Marilyn Kwan
CMAJ Oct 2006, 175 (8) 876; DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.060888

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
‍ Request Permissions
Share
Patient sheet: Tips for avoiding problems with polypharmacy
David B. Hogan, Marilyn Kwan
CMAJ Oct 2006, 175 (8) 876; DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.060888
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Footnotes
  • Figures & Tables
  • Responses
  • Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • Highlights of this issue
  • Dans ce numéro
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Azathioprine-induced severe anemia potentiated by the concurrent use of allopurinol
  • Schwannoma of the tongue
  • “Superscan” in diffusion-weighted imaging with background body suppression magnetic resonance imaging
Show more Practice

Similar Articles

Collections

  • Topics
    • Patient education
    • Drugs: adverse reactions
    • Addiction medicine

Content

  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • Collections
  • Sections
  • Blog
  • Podcasts
  • Alerts
  • RSS
  • Early releases

Information for

  • Advertisers
  • Authors
  • Reviewers
  • CMA Members
  • Media
  • Reprint requests
  • Subscribers

About

  • General Information
  • Journal staff
  • Editorial Board
  • Governance Council
  • Journal Oversight
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright and Permissions

Copyright 2021, Joule Inc. or its licensors. All rights reserved. ISSN 1488-2329 (e) 0820-3946 (p)

All editorial matter in CMAJ represents the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the Canadian Medical Association or its subsidiaries.

Powered by HighWire