Nearly 63% of all Americans have taken at least one prescription or over-the-counter medication in the past year. On its own, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Medications are usually critical in treating and managing a wide variety of acute and chronic conditions. From antibiotics for common illnesses to diuretics for high blood pressure, these medications can be beneficial and lifesaving. But the more medications you take, the more complicated this equation becomes.
After all, how do you know if you’re taking too many medications? Due to specific treatment plans, chronic conditions, or even simple aging, it’s not uncommon for people to end up taking numerous medications on a daily basis. And that can sometimes introduce some unwanted and easy to miss impacts.
That’s why proper management of multiple medications is essential. Unfortunately, this is not always easy to achieve in a traditional care setting. Direct Primary Care settings, however, can help patients more effectively manage and monitor their medications, leading to better experiences and improved outcomes.
Beware the “Polypharmacy”
It’s not unusual for at-risk and aging individuals to take a significant number of medications. When a patient takes more than 4 or 5 medications, they become known as a polypharmacy patient. An appropriately prescribed polypharmacy approach is typically beneficial and essential for these patients. Taking the appropriate medications can be live-saving and life-changing!
But some issues and risks can arise from polypharmacy approaches. These issues can include the following:
- An increased risk of unwanted side effects or interactions: By design, drugs will have an effect on your body. However, many drugs also interact with each other, sometimes in counter-intuitive ways. The more medication you take, the more these interactions can compound each other, increasing the chances for undesirable impacts and side-effects. In some cases, these side-effects can begin to diminish the value of taking the medication in the first place.
- Increased risk of falls, drowsiness, or even dementia: Overmedication has been linked to an increased risk of drowsiness and falls. Additionally, there are links between taking too many meds and the onset of dementia. The exact cause and effect relationship of these increased risks will vary from individual to individual, but it’s a factor most patients will want to consider.
- Overmedication: Taking multiple medications may sometimes mean that you are prescribed drugs that are far too strong or in quantities that are too large. This can increase the potency of side effects or negative impacts.
Any medication you take requires consideration. Patients must balance the positive impacts of the medication with the risk of possible negative effects. A polypharmacy approach can complicate that balance, making it more challenging for patients to understand and manage their healthcare.
Why Does This Happen?
Patients who end up experiencing polypharmacy tend to have more chronic conditions, which usually means seeing more specialists, who will prescribe medications to manage those conditions. Unfortunately, the specialists often don’t automatically communicate with each other, which leaves the primary care physician the one keeping track of all of the medications.
Physicians generally want what’s best for their patients. Physicians in a traditional primary care setting are working under enormous time constraints. This limits how much time they can spend with patients and, as a result, incentivizes quick fixes. And because of this time crunch, physicians don’t always have the ability to sufficiently follow up in terms of medications. This can mean you’re stuck taking meds for longer than you need to be, or accidentally stopped taking ones that you should be taking.
Direct Primary Care Offers a Solution
While a traditional primary care setting can exacerbate some of the inherent problems with polypharmaceutical approaches, care in a Direct Primary Care setting can help minimize the negative impacts of polypharma.
This means that your medication will generally be more effective and you can have more confidence that you aren’t taking too many meds. There are several reasons why Direct Primary Care clinics are particularly well suited for managing polypharmacy patients, including the following:
- You will have more time with your doctor: During your annual visit, you’ll have more time to review your medications and health.
- It’s easy to make a dedicated medication-review appointment: At a Direct Primary Care clinic, your membership dues cover all routine appointments. This means that it’s easy to schedule a medication-review appointment (and you can even bring all the meds you’re taking). This appointment will not cost you anything extra out of pocket, making it much more accessible.
- Your physician gets to know your health (and your medications): Because you have more time with your physician, they get to know your health and your lifestyle a little better. This makes it easier for your doctor to answer basic but important questions about the meds you’re taking. For example, your doctor will have a better handle on whether that medication is still helping or needed, whether the dose needs to change, or whether there’s something better on the market.
In many ways, polypharmacy patients often require extra care and attention. In a Direct Primary Care setting, doctors can give polypharmacy patients the time and attention that truly helps them manage their medications and their health.
If you’re already a patient here at Progressive Health Primary Care, you can schedule an appointment today to talk about your medication needs! But everyone can certainly find a Direct Primary Care clinic near you and discuss how this system of delivering primary care can help improve your relationship with your meds.
