Polypragmazie a jak jí předcházet.

Polypharmacy is currently a serious problem that causes decrease in adherence and increased number of hospitalizations and mortality. WHO addresses polypharmacy in the Medication Without Harm campaign. Other initiatives that deal with polypharmacy are the International Group for Reducing Inappropriate Medication Use & Polypharmacy (IGRIMUP) and Choosing Wisely campaign. The correct approach to address polypharmacy consists of its prevention, i.e. not prescribing inappropriate or unnecessary medication and providing clear timeframe for medication that should not be continued life-long. Further on we should actively seek patients suffering from polypharmacy and intervene it by deprescription. Correctly provided deprescription can be done by means of various tools beginning from simple lists of inappropriate drugs (Beers criteria, STOPP/START) to more comprehensive approaches that evaluate the importance of each particular drug in patient's medication list and help to identify the least important ones that are candidates for deprescription (Medication Appropriateness Index, Good Palliative Geriatric Practice Algorithm and others). When evaluating the appropriateness of pharmacotherapy, we always check if the treatment aim is achieved, if the indication persists, appropriateness of dosing and if the patient understands the pharmacotherapeutical regimen. By this approach we try to eliminate the pharmacotherapy with very low or no benefit for particular patient. Clinical pharmacologist or pharmacist can significantly help with this time-consuming process.