Q:Dr. Si–My 48-year-old husband is on 30 medications. His four doctors know about all his meds, but they never suggest taking him off anything–even when I’ve suggested they do it. How can I find a doctor who knows enough about interactions and will look at his meds and start weaning him off of some? – KFL
A:Dear KFL,
Wow, 30 different medicines and four doctors who are not concerned about that? That appears to be a problem. The chance of at least a theoretical drug interaction or adverse drug reaction occuring when someone is taking 10 different medications is essentially 100% so with 30 different medicines the likelhood of medication-related problems is a real concern. I don’t know about your husband’s medical condition or the specialists he is seeing but in my many years as a pharmacist I have never seen a situation where the use of 30 different medications was appropriate. As a pharmacist I am an advocate for having a pharmacist involved in coordinating drug therapy when multiple physicians are prescribing different medications. While all four of his doctors most likely mean well, one specialist may not be too familiar with the medicines prescribed by another specialist. This is another reason why a pharmacist who understands all the different medications should be involved. Your husband is 48 years old and won’t be a senior citizen for many years but multiple physicians prescribing a large number of medicines is common in seniors so I would suggest that you have a senior care pharmacist perform a comprehensive medication regimen review in an attempt to identify potential medication-related problems that your husband may be experiencing. Please click on the “topics” bar on this page and select “senior care pharmacy services” from the drop down menu to learn more about the services they can offer and how to locate one of these professionals in your area.