Polypharmacy is a term used to describe an individual’s use of
multiple medications. At present, there is no single established
criterion for polypharmacy. However, researchers tend to operationalize
it as concurrent use of 5 or more medications,with
“excessive polypharmacy” referring to use of greater than 10 prescription
medications.It is considered a major public health issue.
While polypharmacy can occur in the general population, it tends
to be concentrated among older adults, many of whom take multiple
prescription medications to treat disease onset and progression.
Ness and colleagues coined the term “polyherbacy” to describe
the use of multiple natural health products (NHPs). Although there
is no established criterion as to what constitutes polyherbacy, they
and others flag it as an emerging public health issue. NHPs include
dietary supplements, vitamins, minerals, and herbals, although
some consider vitamins to be outside of the realm of NHP.Once
restricted to the domain of complementary and alternative medicine
(CAM) and natural health food stores, NHPs are now widely
available in mainstream grocery stores, pharmacies, and through
online purchasing. Most are accessible without a prescription
Similar growth is seen in the availability and accessibility of overthe-counter
products (OTC). Concerns are mounting that there is
excessive use of OTC products such as analgesics, at the population
level generally and among older people specifically. These concerns
are leading to calls for a thorough assessment of the need for
and outcomes of OTC use across age groups.
Polypharmacy is a term used to describe an individual’s use ofmultiple medications. At present, there is no single establishedcriterion for polypharmacy. However, researchers tend to operationalizeit as concurrent use of 5 or more medications,with“excessive polypharmacy” referring to use of greater than 10 prescriptionmedications.It is considered a major public health issue.While polypharmacy can occur in the general population, it tendsto be concentrated among older adults, many of whom take multipleprescription medications to treat disease onset and progression.Ness and colleagues coined the term “polyherbacy” to describethe use of multiple natural health products (NHPs). Although thereis no established criterion as to what constitutes polyherbacy, theyand others flag it as an emerging public health issue. NHPs includedietary supplements, vitamins, minerals, and herbals, althoughsome consider vitamins to be outside of the realm of NHP.Oncerestricted to the domain of complementary and alternative medicine(CAM) and natural health food stores, NHPs are now widelyavailable in mainstream grocery stores, pharmacies, and throughonline purchasing. Most are accessible without a prescriptionSimilar growth is seen in the availability and accessibility of overthe-counterproducts (OTC). Concerns are mounting that there isexcessive use of OTC products such as analgesics, at the populationlevel generally and among older people specifically. These concernsare leading to calls for a thorough assessment of the need forand outcomes of OTC use across age groups.
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