What Can My Physician Do To Simplify The Number Of Pills I Take In A Day?

Dr. Cindy Grines answers the question: 'Simplifying Overwhelming Prescriptions?'

ByABC News
December 23, 2008, 5:58 PM

— -- Question: What can my physician do to simplify the number of pills I take in a day?

Answer: Well, unfortunately if the patient has a situation like a heart attack, there are essential medications that really cannot be eliminated. There are some combination pills that can be prescribed, which combine one or more of those medications and perhaps make it less of a problem.

In addition, there are longer-acting medications which may require the patients to take them once a day, as opposed to two or three times a day, and that will simplify the medical regimen. Now, say for example, the patient does not have a heart attack or does not have heart failure, and the physician is treating them just for angina or for blood pressure.

Then it becomes a lot more simple, because there are a wide spectrum of combination medications, some of which are stronger than others, and some of which are not essential, and in that situation, perhaps one may cut back on the number of medications administered.

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