Polypharmacy contributes to health care costs to both the patient and the healthcare system.
A retrospective cohort study found that polypharmacy was associated with an increased risk
of taking a potentially inappropriate medication and an increased risk of outpatient visits,
and hospitalization with an approximate 30% increase in medical costs [10]. Another study
conducted in Sweden reported that those taking 5 or more medications had a 6.2% increase
in prescription drug expenditure and those taking 10 or more medications had a 7.3%
increase