Emily Klopper: What are multiple medicines? – Problems with managing multiple medicines
Listen to patients and health professionals speak about their experience with taking multiple medicines.
Emily Klopper
Main occupation: Pharmacist (Managing Partner)
Years in clinical practice: 10
Qualifications: BPharm MPS, Grad Dip ExSci, MEd
Emily Klopper, pharmacist, says that sometimes the issues with multiple medicines have more to do with how well a person can manage their medicines, rather than the particular number of medicines they take.
I would think that, for some people, three or more is probably 'multiple', depending on how well they manage their own … well, their own circumstances. I think it's … probably you could set it on a scale and you'd probably find that there's people out there in the community who are on 10 things and they're fine with it, or there's ... I can think of one lady, who I see regularly, and she struggles with the three or four things that she's taking. She's one of those ones who refuses to have a pack, because she doesn't want to give up her independence. So, I think it's very … it’s patient to patient and their coping mechanisms or ability to cope.
The Living with multiple medicines project was developed in
collaboration with Healthtalk Australia.