Multimorbidity, Consumer- Directed Care, and Drug-Related Harm

People from developed countries around the world now routinely live into their 80s and beyond, and this is associated with a range of medical and societal challenges that must be addressed. It is relatively rare to encounter older people who are not affected by one or more chronic diseases, including conditions such as osteoarthritis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), hypertension, and depression. The concurrence of a number of medical and/or psychiatric conditions in the same patient has come to be referred to as multimorbidity, and it is a particularly familiar phenomenon observed by health care providers in settings such as the Emergency Department (ED), primary care practice, and long-term care facilities. Given that life expectancy continues to increase, and that there is considerable further investment in research for the development of new treatments, which will achieve adoption and be promoted to consumers, it is clear that multimorbidity is likely to be a driver for problems arising from medications that are vigorously promoted to consumers.