online Course
Understanding Polypharmacy
Course Description:
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are often prescribed multiple medications, including psychotropic drugs, at higher rates than the general population. While medications can be necessary, polypharmacy—the use of multiple medications simultaneously—can increase the risk of side effects, drug interactions, and reduced quality of life when not carefully monitored.
Understanding Polypharmacy is a self-paced health and safety training course designed to build foundational awareness of polypharmacy and its impact on people with IDD. This course helps provider staff and support coordinators recognize potential risks, understand why polypharmacy occurs, and support informed observation and communication related to medication use—without making clinical decisions outside their role.
Highlights
- Category: Health & Safety
- Runtime: 25 minutes
- Format: Self-paced, online eLearning
What You’ll Learn
What You’ll Learn
By completing this course, learners will be able to:
- Understand what polypharmacy is and why it is common in IDD services
- Recognize potential risks associated with multiple medications, including psychotropics
- Identify how medications may mask underlying medical or environmental concerns
- Support informed observation and communication related to medication use
Synopsis by Module
Learners are introduced to the concept of polypharmacy, including common reasons it occurs in IDD services and how multiple medications can impact health, behavior, and quality of life.
This module focuses on the role of provider staff and support coordinators in observing medication effects, recognizing potential concerns, and communicating effectively with healthcare professionals and interdisciplinary teams.
Who Should Take This Course
This training is designed for professionals involved in medication oversight and support, including:
- Provider Staff
- Direct Support Professionals (DSPs)
- Support Coordinators
- Intensive Support Coordinators
- Planning List Administrators
- State Support Coordinators
It is especially valuable for staff supporting people with complex medical or behavioral needs.
How This Course Works
This course can be hosted within an existing SCORM-compliant learning management system (LMS) or accessed through IntellectAbility’s electronic Learning Platform (eLP). Learners progress at their own pace, with course completion tracked and certificates generated upon successful completion.
Part of the Health & Safety eLearning Series
While Understanding Polypharmacy can be taken as a standalone course, it is part of IntellectAbility’s Health & Safety eLearning Series—a six-course program designed to improve health and safety outcomes for people with IDD.
When taken together, the series addresses interconnected risk areas such as nutrition, mealtime safety, communication, pain recognition, medical equipment maintenance, and medication awareness. Organizations see the greatest benefit when learners engage with the full series, as each course reinforces the others to support safer, more coordinated support.
Build awareness. Reduce medication-related risk.
Enroll today or explore the full Health & Safety eLearning Series to strengthen medication oversight and support practices.
