Med. praxi. 2025;22(1):10-14 | DOI: 10.36290/med.2024.049

Polypharmacy - how to reduce medication in patients

MUDr. Petr Grenar^{1, 2}, PharmDr. Petra Rozsívalová^{3, 4}, MUDr. Dan Rakušan⁵, MUDr. Jiří Nový^{1, 6}, doc. MUDr. Radovan Malý, Ph.D.⁶, MUDr. Jiří Cyrany, Ph.D.⁷

¹ Klinika urgentní medicíny, FN Hradec Králové a LF UK v Hradci Králové

² Katedra vojenské vnitřní medicíny a vojenské hygieny, Vojenská lékařská fakulta, Univerzita obrany, Hradec Králové

³ Oddělení klinické farmacie, Nemocniční lékárna FN Hradec Králové

⁴ Katedra sociální a klinické farmacie, Farmaceutická fakulta UK v Hradci Králové

⁵ Interní klinika 3. LF UK a FTN Praha

⁶ I. interní kardioangiologická klinika, FN Hradec Králové a LF UK v Hradci Králové

⁷ II. interní gastroenterologická klinika, FN Hradec Králové a LF UK v Hradci Králové

According to the World Health Organization, polypharmacy represents one of the greatest risks in medicine. Its increasing prevalence is undoubtedly linked to the growing number of multimorbid geriatric patients, as well as the expanding range of medications and therapeutic options. It is also a direct consequence of defensive medicine, which generates low-value care that provides little or no benefit to the patient and can even be harmful, as is often the case with polypharmacy. This article explores the causes of polypharmacy and discusses current trends in addressing it, including deprescribing and the implementation of sick day rules.

Keywords: polypharmacy, polypharmacotherapy, choosing wisely, time to benefit, deprescribing, sick day rules, overdiagnosis, overtreatment, low­‑value care.

Received: August 23, 2024; Revised: October 2, 2024; Accepted: October 21, 2024; Published: February 20, 2025  Show citation