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MARCH 9, 2020

Polypharmacy a Big Problem If Left Unchecked

Patient health—and Medicare star ratings—at risk

National Harbor, Md.—For years, the woman didn’t even realize the medications she was taking might be dangerous.

Her doctors didn’t either, so over time, they prescribed multiple drugs to treat her fibromyalgia, depression and peripheral neuropathy that had various effects on her body, but shared one property: All were anticholinergic (ACH) agents, which block the action of acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter that interacts with other cells involved in learning and memory.

At