Polypharmacy in numbers

50% of people over 65 years old require polymedication in Switzerland. source

58% risk of adverse drug reactions when taking 5 different medications. source

87% of elderly polymedicated patients could suffer from adverse drug reactions. source

Polypharmacy: Health effects

Adverse effects impact quality of life

Polypharmacy causes numerous adverse effects in elderly patients. The most common are:

Cognitive impairment

Increased risk of falls

Urinary incontinence

Reduced nutrition

Premature death

Polypharmacy: costs increase

The drug market in Switzerland was worth 7 billion CHF in 2023 source

The total cost of healthcare in Switzerland was 93 billion CHF in 2023 source

Avoidable costs

Medeleo could save

Between 700 to 7000 CHF for every patient under polymedication source

>1 billion CHF for Swiss society as a whole

Unnecessary medications are dangerous and expensive.