PPC Health Library
Polypharmacy means taking multiple medications at once - common once you see more than one specialist. The risk is not any single drug; it is the combination: interactions, duplicate therapies, doses meant for a younger body, and medications started years ago that nobody has re-evaluated since. A yearly medication review puts everything you take - prescriptions, over-the-counter pills, vitamins, supplements - in front of one clinician who checks the whole list against your current conditions, your kidney and liver function, and each other. It is one of the simplest ways to prevent a hospital visit.
A cardiologist adds one drug, a rheumatologist another, an urgent care a third. Each made sense at the time. But nobody owns the whole list by default - and some combinations only cause trouble slowly: dizziness that becomes a fall, fatigue blamed on age, confusion blamed on everything but the medicine cabinet.
Is every medication still needed, at the right dose, for your current health? Are there interactions or duplicates? Are any on the lists of medications known to be higher-risk in older adults? Can anything be simplified or stopped safely? Deprescribing - deliberately stopping a drug that no longer earns its place - is good medicine, not neglect.
St. John's Wort, high-dose vitamin E, ginkgo, fish oil, magnesium - supplements interact with prescriptions in ways patients rarely mention because "it's just a vitamin." Bring the bottles. All of them.
How do I prepare?
Put everything you take in a bag - or write a complete list with doses - and bring it to the appointment.
Who does the review?
A physician or a clinical pharmacist. Practices with an on-staff pharmacist can go deeper.
Is this covered?
Medication reviews are often part of covered visits for Medicare patients - ask when booking.
At Personal Physician Care
Medication reviews are built into how we practice: a clinical pharmacist on the care team, physicians who see your whole list, and chronic care management between visits - at our Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and Hallandale Beach offices. We accept most major insurance plans, including Medicare. Call your office: Boca Raton (561) 750-7509 · Delray Beach (561) 498-5660 · Hallandale Beach (954) 454-9055.
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