Less Can Be More: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Mitigating Polypharmacy
Target Audience: Pharmacist, Pharmacy Tech, Physician Assistant, Physician
Course Overview
Polypharmacy—the concurrent use of multiple medications—is often necessary to manage complex, chronic conditions, particularly in aging and medically complex populations. However, when not appropriately managed, polypharmacy can lead to medication overload, adverse drug events, and diminished quality of life. In today's healthcare environment, optimizing medication regimens requires more than simply counting prescriptions. It demands collaborative, interprofessional efforts that engage pharmacists, prescribers, nurses, patients, and caregivers in shared decision-making to align treatment plans with patient goals and reduce unnecessary medication use. This activity explores strategies to identify and address inappropriate polypharmacy, emphasizing team-based interventions that support safer prescribing, deprescribing where appropriate, and improved care transitions. A coordinated approach across disciplines is essential to reduce medication-related harm, optimize therapeutic outcomes, and improve operational efficiency across care settings.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this educational activity, participants should be able to:
- Describe the risks and prevalence of inappropriate polypharmacy
- List the risk factors associated with polypharmacy
- Identify strategies to evaluate and manage polypharmacy
- Apply interdisciplinary approaches to reduce medication-related harm and improve patient outcomes
Faculty
- Introduction
- History of Polypharmacy
- Consequences of Inappropriate Polypharmacy
- Polypharmacy: Prevalence and Risks
- Polypharmacy's Prevalence
- Risks of Polypharmacy
- Common Causes of Polypharmacy
- Polypharmacy Identification and Mitigation
- Strategies for Identifying Polypharmacy
- Polypharmacy Mitigation
- Barriers to Deprescribing in Primary Care
- Current Technology for Home Medication Management
- Case-Based Scenario: Team-Based Care for Polypharmacy Mitigation
- Outcome
- Summary
From March 16, 2026 through March 16, 2029, participants must:
- Read the "learning objectives" and "author and planning team disclosures"
- Study the section entitled "educational activity"
- Complete the Course Test and Evaluation form. The Course Test will be graded automatically. Following successful completion of the Course Test with a score of 70% or higher, a statement of participation will be made available immediately. (No partial credit will be given.)
Credit for this course will be automatically uploaded to CPE Monitor®.
Faculty Planner Disclosure
The following individuals were involved in planning, developing, and/or authoring this activity: L. Austin Fredrickson, MD, FACP; Sandra Rogers, MD; Anna Shurtleff Smith, MPH, BSN-RN; and Pamela Sardo, PharmD, BS. None of the individuals involved in developing this activity has a conflict of interest or financial relationships related to the subject matter. There are no financial relationships or commercial or financial support relevant to this activity to report or disclose by RxCe.com or any of the individuals involved in the development of this activity.
Unlabeled Use Disclosure
The information provided in this course is general in nature, and it is designed solely to provide participants with continuing education credit(s). This course and materials are not meant to substitute for the independent, professional judgment of any participant regarding that participant's professional practice, including but not limited to patient assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and/or health management. Medical and pharmacy practices, rules, and laws vary from state to state, and this course does not cover the laws of each state; therefore, participants must consult the laws of their state as they relate to their professional practice. Healthcare professionals must consult their employer, healthcare facility, hospital, or other organization for guidelines, protocols, and procedures to follow. The information provided in this course does not replace those guidelines, protocols, and procedures, but is for academic purposes only, and this course's limited purpose is for the completion of continuing education credits. Participants are advised and acknowledge that information related to medications, their administration, dosing, contraindications, adverse reactions, interactions, warnings, precautions, or accepted uses is constantly changing. Any person taking this course understands that such a person must make an independent review of medication information before any patient assessment, diagnosis, treatment and/or health management. Any discussion of off-label use of any medication, device, or procedure is informational only, and such uses are not endorsed hereby. Nothing contained in this course represents the opinions, views, judgments, or conclusions of RxCe.com LLC. RxCe.com LLC is not liable or responsible to any person for any inaccuracy, error, or omission with respect to this course or course material.
Please ensure the device you plan to use meets these requirements:
- Operating System: Windows 7, 8, 10, or 11 / Mac OS X 10.9 or later / iOS / Android
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- A connection to the internet
Accreditation
In support of improving patient care, RxCE.com is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
PTCB Recognition
RxCe.com, LLC, offers pharmacy technician continuing education courses for PTCB recertification. Pharmacy technician courses are indicated both in the Target Audience description and the ACPE UAN which will end with a "T".