@macferse Hi, it's really good of you to take an interest in what your friend is experiencing. Piecemeal, or what I sometimes call the "add-a-pill" practice is an unfortunate experience for too many people. I'm not sure of the cause - but I think it is partly how overwhelmed out family docs are - with too many patients, too little experienced staff, and corporate and insurance driven restrictions.

You don't say where he is located, but if there is any possibility, your should be seeing someone with advanced training in geriatric medicine, preferably a doctor of internal medicine or a specially trained nurse practitioner. As for a source for referral, I have always gotten good advice from hospital social workers or nurse navigators who spend their days connecting people to the right resources. Larger clinical practices and insurance companies sometimes have similar people on their staff. Finally, if you county or state has an "elder ombudsman" office, they can be helpful.

Does this give you a starting place? Thank you for being a caregiver to your friend - it takes a whole community to keep everyone safe and healthy.
Sue

@macferse, I moved your great question to this existing discussion where @gcranor asked a similar question:
- Medication reconciliation: Who do I talk with to review all my meds? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/stop-all-medicine/

I did this so you can read the previous posts as well as connect easily with @gcranor @sueinmn @jenatsky and others.

I agree with Sue that someone with advanced training in geriatric medicine would be a great help. Your friend might also enlist the help of their local pharmacist. Pharmacists can be a very helpful addition to one's health care team.