Phoenix Polypharmacy Lawyer

This simultaneous use of multiple drugs by a single patient to treat either one or various conditions is called polypharmacy.

The medical industry has yet to define precisely how many medications constitutes an instance of polypharmacy. Commonly, the number used to describe this practice is four or more medications.

Polypharmacy occurs commonly in nursing homes, sometimes healthily. But polypharmacy can quickly be done incorrectly, and the consequences for elderly nursing home residents can be devastating.

If your loved one suffered from the effects of negligent polypharmacy in Phoenix, AZ at his/her nursing home, you may be eligible to receive compensation. Call Zanes Law at 866-499-8989 . Our polypharmacy lawyers in Phoenix will do everything from A to Z to see that you recover all damages related to this negligent practice.

The Good And The Bad Of Polypharmacy

Often, the elderly residents at a nursing home suffer from conditions that require the residents to take medication—sometimes even several medications. When prescribed and administered properly, this type of polypharmacy is fine, even essential.

Complications can arise, however, when multiple medications as the number of drugs increases, or when the medications are administered in unhealthy combinations. In this sense, polypharmacy presents a problem in any patient. With the elderly, the risks are exacerbated by the fact that this age group tends to suffer from a higher number of health conditions, thereby increasing the potential for adverse effects.

Potential Risks Of Polypharmacy In Nursing Homes

• Increased chance of residents falling
• Changes in seniors’ metabolism, which make drugs harder to process and interactions harder to predict
• Greater likelihood that residents will make an error in taking their meds
• Potential to introduce inappropriate or unnecessary medications
• Increased chances that drugs will interact poorly, with adverse side effects
• Prescription cascade effect that occurs when a combination of meds creates a new problem for the resident, which generates administration of additional drugs

For a free legal consultation with a polypharmacy lawyer serving Phoenix, call 866-499-8989

Polypharmacy In Today’s Nursing Homes

Research published in the American Journal of Geriatric Pharmacotherapy revealed a 40 percent incidence of polypharmacy among nursing home residents. For the purpose of this study, polypharmacy was defined as the concurrent use of nine or more medications.

According to this 2004 study, the drugs most frequently reported for nursing home residents receiving polypharmacy were as follows:

• Gastrointestinal agents (laxatives, 47.5%; agents for acid/peptic disorders, 43.3%)
• Drugs affecting the central nervous system (antidepressants, 46.3%; antipsychotics or antimanics, 25.9%)
• Pain relievers (nonnarcotic analgesics, 43.6%; antipyretics, 41.2%; antiarthritics, 31.2%)

Phoenix Polypharmacy Lawyer Near Me 866-499-8989

Signs That Your Loved One Is Suffering The Effects Of Polypharmacy

When multiple, conflicting medications are administered to nursing home residents, they can suffer serious complications, many of which are life-threatening.

The following list represents the wide range of potential polypharmacy effects—symptoms that something has gone wrong at your loved one’s nursing home:

• Allergic reactions
• Changes in behavior
• Incontinence
• Constipation
• Loss of weight
• Confusion
• Depression
• Insomnia
• Bruising/bleeding
• Headaches
• Muscle pain
• Falls/fractures
• Arrhythmias
• Stroke
• Cardiac arrest
• Brain injuries/neurological damage
• Organ failure
• Paralysis
• Hemorrhaging
• Coma
• Sensory damage
• Death

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