Low-value Care

Solving Medication Overload: America’s Other Drug Problem

Abstract: The twentieth century witnessed miracles in terms of improved health and greater longevity, and certainly one of the factors in that sea change has been advances in pharmaceuticals and pharmacotherapeutics. With the advent of antibiotics, steroids, antihypertensives, statins, and lifesaving medications for diabetes, people are living longer with fewer symptoms and, in general, better quality of life. Why then, is the Lown Institute concerned about the growing epidemic of medication overload? And why would The John A. Hartford Foundation (JAHF) be interested in this work?

Date Published: May 20, 2019

Author(s): Shannon Brownlee and Terry Fulmer

Publication: Health Affairs

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To eliminate medication overload, serious cultural, educational, and policy changes are needed. This action plan offers recommendations for policymakers, health care institutions, clinicians, and patients across five key categories to reduce harm from multiple medication use. Suggested Citation: Eliminating medication overload: A national action plan. Working Group on Medication Overload. Brookline, MA: The Lown Institute, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.46241/LI.YLBW4885

Pharmaceutical marketing is a significant factor in the growing public health crisis of medication overload, which puts millions of older adults at risk of preventable harm and premature death. This issue brief provides recommendations to reduce pharmaceutical industry influence by limiting pharma sales rep visits to clinicians and direct-to-consumer advertising.

This issue brief provides recommendations for clinical practice guidelines and electronic health records that would give clinicians the information they need to appropriately prescribe and deprescribe.