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.