Medication Review: What It Is and Why It Saves Lives

When you’re taking more than one medicine, a medication review, a structured check-up of all your drugs to spot risks and overlaps. Also known as drug reconciliation, it’s not optional if you’re on three or more prescriptions—it’s essential. Think of it like a safety net for your pills. Many people don’t realize that mixing common drugs—like a blood pressure med with an antacid or an antidepressant with a sleep aid—can cause dizziness, kidney damage, or even sudden confusion. A medication review catches these before they hurt you.

It’s not just about what’s on your list. It’s about what’s missing, what’s duplicated, or what’s outdated. For example, someone on NTI drugs, medications with a razor-thin safety margin like warfarin or lithium needs extra care. A tiny switch in generic brands or a missed lab test can push them into toxicity. Same goes for polypharmacy, the use of multiple medications at once, common in older adults. One study found that 40% of seniors on five or more drugs had at least one harmful interaction. A medication review doesn’t just list pills—it asks: Why are you still taking this? Is this helping or hurting? Could this be replaced with something safer?

It’s also about how your body reacts. Some drugs cause adverse drug reaction, unintended harmful effects that aren’t allergic, like drowsiness, nausea, or memory loss. These aren’t rare. One in five adults on multiple meds reports feeling worse, not better. A good review doesn’t just check names and doses—it looks at your symptoms. Did your balance get worse after starting a new antihistamine? Did your sleep vanish after adding a new painkiller? These aren’t just side effects—they’re red flags. And they’re exactly what a medication review is built to find.

What you’ll find below isn’t theory. It’s real stories from people who almost missed the warning signs. You’ll learn how NTI drugs demand extra caution, why polypharmacy isn’t just common—it’s dangerous without oversight, and how a simple check-up can stop a life-threatening adverse drug reaction before it starts. These posts don’t just explain problems—they show you how to fix them, one pill at a time.