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5 Tips to Manage Polypharmacy: A Toolkit for Primary Care Clinicians

Aug 28
1 min read

Polypharmacy is common in primary care, particularly among older adults and people living with frailty. While multiple medications may be necessary, the risks of unnecessary medications, adverse drug events, drug interactions, prescribing cascades, falls, and other medication-related harms can increase as the number of medications grows.


The 5 Tips to Manage Polypharmacy toolkit, developed by deprescribing.org with support from Canada’s Drug Agency (CDA-AMC), provides practical strategies for primary care clinicians. It outlines five approaches that can be incorporated into routine prescribing and medication management.


The 5 Tips

  1. Document the reason for use when prescribing a medication, including the anticipated duration.

  2. Ask whether a new problem could be caused by a medication before adding another medication or pursuing further investigation.

  3. Support patients to maintain and share an up-to-date medication list, including the reason for use, start date, and anticipated duration.

  4. Conduct medication reviews with patients or connect them with a trusted health care provider when additional support is needed.

  5. Deprescribe and simplify medications when appropriate to reduce medication burden and align treatment with the patient's goals and priorities.


The toolkit also includes resources to support medication reviews, identify prescribing cascades and side effects, deprescribe medications, and have conversations with patients about their medications. Click below to view the 5 Tips to Manage Polypharmacy toolkit, or access it through Pathways.





 
 

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