Clinical consequences of polypharmacy in elderly

Key Points

• Evaluate the prevalence, clinical consequences, and intervention strategies associated with polypharmacy in older populations.
• Synthesized international evidence examining rates of polypharmacy and inappropriate medication use across older adult populations, including nursing home residents.
• Assessed outcomes from interprofessional intervention studies involving clinical pharmacists focused on high-risk older patients.
• Nearly 50% of older adults take one or more medications that lack medical necessity, with the highest drug burdens occurring in nursing home settings.
• Polypharmacy demonstrates a strong relationship with negative clinical consequences and adverse drug events.
• Interprofessional intervention teams successfully reduce unnecessary prescribing, although evidence demonstrates mixed results on distal health endpoints.