High pharmacy burden for bipolar patients, study finds

Concerned about patients with bipolar disorder needing hospitalization despite treatment with four or more psychotropic medications, a team of researchers sought to quantify the rate of "complex polypharmacy." They found that 36 percent of patients admitted to the hospital with bipolar disorder in 2010 were receiving complex polypharmacy from their community providers. The polypharmacy rate was significantly higher for women. Including for other conditions, the average patient was on six medicat...