Polypharmacy doesn’t concern just nurses or just consumers but both. Nurses need to care about the problems that result from polypharmacy so that they can better care for their patients. By knowing what drugs or supplements can interact with each other, nurses can prevent problems before they happen. Many healthcare facilities use electronic resources to help them detect drug interactions that could occur. With medications changing constantly, it is important to be up to date on all possible drug interactions.
Consumers can take a proactive role in their medications as well. Do you take any over the counter medications, or do you perhaps take any herbal supplements? Many people do. I know I do. If you do, you might not realize that these things that you’re putting into your body might not mix so well. According to an article from oxfordjournals.org, dietary supplementation is growing in the United States, and the problem with this is that there is not much research to determine how these supplements could interact with different medications. Also, many people that go to the pharmacy to get things such as cold medicine grab multiple medications, and a lot of the time they have the same exact active drugs in them. This can cause over medication. A simple way to help with this issue is to look at the back of the box. The pharmacist can also be a VERY important tool to determine what medications might interact with what. As a consumer or a nurse is there anything that you can think of that you could do to help with the issue of polypharmacy?
if you want to check out the article you can at: http://ecam.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/nem150
I think the general public need education on how to use herbal supplement and over-the-counter drug. Even though they are avialable but consumers need to talk to a pharmacy before they can use them. They can educate them on any drug interactions and other side effects.
ReplyDeleteI think it is always good to find out about the medicine which you about to take
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting!!! I didn't know how common or harmful this is. Very helpful information!
ReplyDeleteyour health care provider (i.e. physician, pharmasist, etc.) is the general public's best defense against polypharmacy.
ReplyDeleteYou would think with as many different drugs and supplements that pharmaceutical companies and doctors shove in our face, there would already be some sort of system in place to prevent “polypharmacy”. The least they could do for charging so much money for these drugs is make sure the consumers have some knowledge of what they are putting into their bodies, regardless if it is an over the counter drug or a prescription. This has opened to my eyes and will make me think twice before taking one of my prescription drugs with an over the counter drug.
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