Abstract

The Dutch multidisciplinary guideline on ‘Polypharmacy in older people’ advises performing an annual medication review for patients aged 65 or older who use five or more drugs and have at least one risk factor for negative outcomes of their drug usage. We describe a 79-year-old male patient with an indication for a medication review and identified drug-related problems (DRPs). Furthermore, we describe two female patients aged 97 and 91 who use fewer than five drugs, dispensed via an automated system, and also have DRPs. We suggest adding the use of a multidose drug-dispensing system as an indication for a medication review. This will also help to identify patients with undertreatment. In addition, we recommend improving collaboration with pharmacists, which may enhance the effect of a medication review by increasing the number of drug changes.