polypharmacy
1
8.2
- noun
- /ˌpɒliˈfɑːrməsi/
- Specialized
:
polifarmacia
- There's no doubt that the United States has been manipulated into becoming a "polypharmacy nation."
Examples
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The study included 61 patients who had been physically inactive with hip fractures, multiple diseases, and polypharmacy.
Academic text (2006) -
Consequently, they often present with comorbidities and polypharmacy and are at high risk of hospital admission, especially in winter.
Academic text (2010) -
But as you get older, polypharmacy becomes a much, much bigger deal.
-
I was trying to describe a time in American psychiatry when the march towards the kind of polypharmacy we see today began.
Blog text (29) -
It is also worth bearing in mind what other medications Joan is on, as the risk of significant drug interactions goes up with polypharmacy.
Academic text (2012) -
Better to live comfortably while guarding vigilantly against polypharmacy than to live in sharp pain from untreated disease!
Blog text (10) -
The findings of this study should not be ignored as they add to the growing number of studies that stress the importance of considering drug-drug interactions before adding a new medication, especially in elderly patients with multiple comorbid conditions and polypharmacy.
Academic text (2015) -
"The word 'polypharmacy' simply means 'many drugs,' but refers to instances where an individual is taking too many drugs—either because more drugs are prescribed than are clinically indicated, or when the sheer number of pills simply becomes a burden for the patient."
Blog text (22) -
The care of the older adult, which may differ due to such complex areas as decreased physiological resilience, frailty, decreased compensatory mechanisms, increased number of comorbid conditions, or polypharmacy, will contribute to poorer outcomes for these older orthopaedic patients.
Academic text (2006) -
Many elderly patients face the challenge of polypharmacy, as they may need multiple medications to manage their various health issues.
Synonyms
The use of more than one drug at the same time, often causing health risks
To give two or more medicines at the same time
Antonyms
How Many
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Polypharmacy comes from poly- meaning 'many' and pharmacy meaning 'medicine' or the shop where you get drugs. So polypharmacy describes a patient taking many medicines at once and the problems this can cause.