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A KFF Health News report, discussed on WAMU’s Health Hub, warns that prescriptions can accumulate as people age, including drugs that may no longer be needed. Geriatrics experts and pharmacists advise patients and caregivers to review medication lists with a clinician rather than stopping medicines on their own.
Older adults and their caregivers should periodically review prescription lists with a doctor or pharmacist, according to guidance discussed by journalist Paula Span on WAMU’s Health Hub on Sept. 30. The KFF Health News report describes how prescriptions can accumulate over time, potentially leaving patients taking medicines that are no longer needed or that cause problems when combined with other drugs.
Span, who writes The New York Times column “The New Old Age” and contributes to KFF Health News, discussed common medications that some older patients may overuse, including aspirin and benzodiazepines. The report says prescriptions started for a particular reason can remain part of a person’s routine even as health needs and medical evidence change.
Physician K. Eric De Jonge, director of geriatrics at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, said the number of medicines a patient takes can be associated with side effects or intolerance. He stated that “once you get to six or seven prescription medications”, there is “a nearly 100% chance of some sort of side effect or intolerance.” The report does not provide the underlying study or further details on how that estimate was calculated.
The advice described is to ask a clinician whether each medicine remains appropriate. A review can also give a doctor or pharmacist the chance to consider possible interactions and side effects. The report does not recommend that patients stop or change a prescription without professional guidance.
Medication Reviews Can Catch Problems
A medication list that grows without regular review can make it harder for patients and caregivers to know which drugs remain necessary and whether combinations may be causing unwanted effects. For older adults, a review offers a structured opportunity to discuss side effects, changing health needs and continued benefits with a clinician.
The issue also concerns how medical advice changes over time. A prescription may have been appropriate when first written, but evidence or a patient’s circumstances can later shift. Span’s central point is that patients and caregivers can raise the question rather than assume a long-standing medicine still serves the same purpose.
This does not mean that a particular number of medicines proves a patient is being harmed. De Jonge’s statistic is a quoted estimate, and the report does not establish an individual patient’s risk. Decisions about reducing or stopping medication need to account for the reason it was prescribed and the risks of changing treatment.
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How Prescriptions Accumulate
People may be prescribed medicines by different clinicians or at different points in their lives. A drug that was started to address one condition can remain on the list after circumstances change, while new prescriptions are added. The KFF Health News report describes this process as medication accumulating with age; it does not say that every older adult takes too many drugs.
Span said doctors prescribe based on evidence available at the time, but research continues and patients can settle into routines. In her account, a patient may not question whether a medicine is still needed, and a doctor may not be aware of newer research. That makes a direct review with the patient’s care team a practical step, rather than assuming a prescription should continue indefinitely.
““Once you get to six or seven prescription medications, you get a nearly 100% chance of some sort of side effect or intolerance.””
— K. Eric De Jonge, director of geriatrics at MedStar Washington Hospital Center
The Evidence Behind the Estimate
The source does not identify the research behind De Jonge’s estimate, define the patients or side effects covered, or explain how the quoted probability was derived. It should be treated as his stated assessment, not as a prediction that applies equally to every person taking six or seven prescriptions.
The report also does not name specific patients, provide a list of medicines that should routinely be stopped, or quantify how often medication reviews prevent harm. Whether a drug remains appropriate depends on an individual’s conditions, treatment goals and other medicines. Any changes require guidance from a qualified clinician; the article does not say that patients should discontinue medicines on their own.
Ask for a Review With Your Care Team
Patients and caregivers can bring a current list of prescriptions, over-the-counter medicines and supplements to an appointment and ask whether each item is still needed. A doctor or pharmacist can discuss the reason for each medicine, possible side effects, and whether combinations deserve closer attention. The KFF Health News report recommends checking with a doctor; it does not describe a specific new program or formal review deadline.
For now, the practical next step is a conversation with the clinician who knows the patient’s health history. The report leaves individual treatment decisions to patients and their care teams and provides no broader policy change or follow-up milestone.
Key Questions
What is the main advice in the report?
Ask a doctor or pharmacist to review your medication list and discuss whether each prescription remains appropriate. Do not stop or alter a medicine without professional guidance.
Does taking six or seven prescriptions mean a person will have side effects?
No individual outcome is established by the report. De Jonge said there was a “nearly 100% chance” of some side effect or intolerance at that medication count, but the source gives no calculation or study details, and the estimate should not be treated as an individual diagnosis.
Which medicines does the report mention?
Span discussed common medications including aspirin and benzodiazepines as drugs some older patients may overuse. The report does not advise every patient to stop either type.
Who should review an older adult’s medicines?
The report recommends checking with the patient’s doctor and notes that pharmacists also advise medication reviews. The clinician should consider the person’s health history and the reasons each medicine was prescribed.
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