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Therapeutics > Drug Therapy > Polypharmacy
... > Health Care Facilities, Manpower, and Services > Health Services > Health Services Misuse > Medical Overuse > Overtreatment > Polypharmacy
... > Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms > Attitude > Attitude to Health > Health Services Misuse > Medical Overuse > Overtreatment > Polypharmacy
... > Health Occupations > Health Services Administration > Patient Care Management > Delivery of Health Care > Attitude to Health > Health Services Misuse > Medical Overuse > Overtreatment > Polypharmacy
... > Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation > Delivery of Health Care > Attitude to Health > Health Services Misuse > Medical Overuse > Overtreatment > Polypharmacy

Preferred term

Polypharmacy  

Type

  • mesh:Descriptor

Definition

  • The use of multiple drugs administered to the same patient, most commonly seen in elderly patients. It includes also the administration of excessive medication. Since in the United States most drugs are dispensed as single-agent formulations, polypharmacy, though using many drugs administered to the same patient, must be differentiated from DRUG COMBINATIONS, single preparations containing two or more drugs as a fixed dose, and from DRUG THERAPY, COMBINATION, two or more drugs administered separately for a combined effect. (From Segen, Dictionary of Modern Medicine, 1992)

Broader concept

Related concepts

Entry terms

  • Polymedication

Allowable Qualifier(s)

In other languages

URI

http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/JVR-HWSHZ74Z-L

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RDF/XML TURTLE JSON-LD Created 6/10/96, last modified 3/12/21