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Here's a new video by Pat Deegan about how to talk to your doctor or nurse about medications:

Here's her blog post about it:

Recent national studies have shown that the rate at which 2 or more antipsychotic medications or 2 or more antidepressant medications are concurrently prescribed is increasing dramatically over the past decade. This trend is referred to as polypharmacy. There is very little empirical data to support such widespread polypharmacy. When we are prescribed multiple drugs from the same class our risk of adverse events increases and we increase the health risks associated with using these medications.

The reason I created CommonGround was to help people prepare to talk with their doctors and nurses about important topics like polypharmacy. Here is an example of the type of decision support tools that CommonGround users can watch to prepare to talk with psychiatrists about polypharmacy. I created this 12-minute video in collaboration with the Medical Director of the Department of Mental Health in Massachusets, Mary Ellen Foti MD. The video is interactive and folks complete the companion Reducing Meds Worksheet while watching. Feel free to use this resource with people who may want to become empowered self-advocates.

http://www.patdeegan.com/blog/posts/...effective-dose