There is increasing concern about the use of multiple medications in psychiatric patients.Older adults make up 15% of the population yet they account for 30% of the prescribed medications. There is increased risk of falls, confusion and consequent functional decline as a result of potential interactions and adverse drug events.

To document the extent of polypharmacy and potential drug interactions in elderly inpatient population at the point of discharge.

25 consecutive discharge summaries from an elderly mixed (organic and functional) inpatient unit were evaluated.

out of 25 (15 female and 10 male) patients with age range of 59-97 years, an average of 6.5 drugs (Range:2-17; Median:6) were prescribed. An average of 3.1 pair of interactions (Range:0-15; Median:3) were noted. Potentially hazardous interactions (Average 0.68; Range:0-4) was a worrying trend in this patient group.

Polypharmacy is commonplace in elderly patients and is worrisome. Different strategies like in-house pharmacist may offer some safeguards though further research is needed.