Health care has traditionally focused on prescribing medications, with little focus on when to stop them. But pills and potions can add up over time and do more harm than good.
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Articles on polypharmacy
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About half the population of people taking regular medicines don’t take them as prescribed. Here are some tips to help you remember.
The language used to describe medications is confusing, with multiple names for the same drug. A change to prescribing rules from today should go a long way to addressing this issue.
As the boomers age, many will have medication issues. That can be compounded by the number of drugs they take, both prescription and over-the-counter.
Taking multiple medicines strongly increases the risk of unwanted side effects such as drowsiness, dizziness, confusion, falls and injuries and even hospitalisations.
Top contributors
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Palliative Medicine Physician, Senior Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne
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Senior Research Fellow, University of Sydney
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Head of School and Dean of Pharmacy, University of Sydney
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Senior research fellow, University of Sydney
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Associate Professor of Geriatric Medicine, University of Sydney
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Associate Professor of Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Virginia
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Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of Queensland
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PhD student, Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Newcastle
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Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice, University of South Australia
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Enterprise Fellow, University of South Australia
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Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Medicine Use and Safety , Monash University
