UCLPartners collects local insights to effectively tackle polypharmacy

Polypharmacy occurs when one person is using multiple medications at the same time. Currently in England, an estimated 876,317 people are taking 10 or more medicines a day, close to 40% of these people are aged 75 or over.

At UCLPartners, we are inviting our local residents and healthcare workforce to tell us more about the  polypharmacy they are experiencing and how they feel this is having an impact on people’s lives and how we can collectively address it.

With our nation ageing, and more of us living for longer with multiple long-term conditions, our country’s rate of polypharmacy will continue  to increase. And while polypharmacy is often clinically necessary, it is not without risk and sometimes it can become inappropriate.

The recent National Overprescribing Review, found overprescribing is a serious problem across international health systems and identified systemic and cultural issues to be the cause of this. As part of its findings, the review listed 20 recommendations the NHS should heed, to make a difference. The new AHSN Network polypharmacy programme, which UCLPartners is implementing across our geography,  is integral to the delivery of improvements.

Mrs Mandeep Butt, Clinical Medicines Optimisation Lead for UCLPartners said: “Inappropriate polypharmacy is arguably one of our most pressing patient safety concerns. The use of multiple medications, particularly in older patients, poses increased risks for drug interactions, poor adherence and experience of side effects.

“This new national programme by the AHSN Network will harness local insights gathered by all 15 AHSNs, ensuring that any solution we devise can be tailored for any community affected. This contribution to the evidence base, will allow us to take further steps towards tackling problematic polypharmacy.”

The AHSN Network’s national polypharmacy programme will utilise data to guide Primary Care Networks in their efforts to ensure those patients who are most at risk receive regular structured medication reviews. It will also provide educational assistance, upskilling the workforce to feel more confident in stopping unnecessary medicines. And it will seek to involve patients through public-facing initiatives that aim to change public perceptions of prescribing and encourage patients to open up about medicine concerns and expectations.

Valentina Karas, Director of Implementation at UCLPartners said: “For this programme to make a difference in a way that matters, it needs to be based upon authentic insights from prescribers and patients. We need to know and understand what they think and feel. Only then will we be able to devise effective tools that will drive real-world impact.

Our upcoming event for local residents will be an important listening exercise for us, it will help us to unpick regional issue we are facing and prioritise our focus. I am looking forward to hearing what attendees have to say, and confronting the issues together in a meaningful way.”