Polypharmacy: a healthcare conundrum with a pharmacogenetic solution

Abstract

The use of multiple medications is growing at an alarming rate with some reports documenting an average of 12–22 prescriptions being used by individuals ≥50 years of age. The indirect consequences of polypharmacy include exacerbation of drug–drug interactions, adverse drug reactions, increased likelihood of prescribing cascades, chronic dependence, and hospitalizations – all of which have significant health and economic burden. While many practical solutions for reducing polypharmacy have been proposed, they have been met with limited efficacy. This highlights the need for a new systematic approach for fine-tuning dispensing of medications. Pharmacogenetic testing provides an empirical and scientifically rigorous approach for guiding appropriate selection of medicines, with the potential to reduce unnecessary polypharmacy while improving clinical outcomes. The goal of this review article is to provide healthcare providers with an understanding of polypharmacy, its adverse effects on the healthcare system and highlight how pharmacogenetic information can be used to avoid polypharmacy in patients.

Keywords:

• Polypharmacy
• pharmacogenetics
• PGx testing

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Disclosure statement

None of the authors have conflicts to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This work was in part supported by the NIH NHLBI under Grant 1R43HL136220-01A1 (R.V.).