Effects of psychotropic polypharmacy intervention

Psychotropic polypharmacy, the concurrent use of two or more psychotropic drugs in the same patient, is a common practice in treating patients with psychiatric disorders. Such practices risk an increase in the incidence of drug interaction and adverse effects, as well as a decrease in medication adherence. A meta‐analysis of 26 studies that employed focused medication review with a goal of appropriate de‐prescribing reported significant reductions in the number of psychotropic drugs after the reviews, but there was little evidence of decreased incidence of adverse drug reactions or lower drug costs.