One in three Americans over 55 take at least five prescription drugs every day, and those with chronic illnesses may down more than 20, according to a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. That’s on top of over-the-counter medicines and supplements taken by 68 percent.

Health experts are warning that those numbers add up to a growing problem tied to what is known as “polypharmacy” — and confusion among many seniors about how and when to take the variety of medicines in their pill bottles is a key factor in more than 100,00 U.S. deaths each year, the JAMA article suggests.

But several strategies geriatric and medication specialists have developed can help older Americans keep track of what they’re taking, and when, to reduce the risks of misuse, overdoses, or under dosing, The New York Times reports.

A recent seminar at a Chicago health center demonstrated how easy it is for seniors to be confused by the meds their doctors prescribe.

Doctors presented 464 patients with a list of hypothetical prescriptions, and dosing instruction, and asked them to indicate when they should be taken over the course of the day. After reading the instructions on seven pill bottles, the participants were asked to distribute them in a medication box with 24 slots — one for each hour of the day.

Ideally, all seven drugs could have been grouped into just four dosings per day. But the doctors found:

• Only 15 percent of the participants understood that possibility.
• Most decided they needed to take the pills six times a day.
• One third of the patients organized the pills into seven daily doses.
• While two of the drugs carried identical instructions, a third of participants didn’t realize that they could be taken together.
• Almost 80 percent didn’t understand that they could take two drugs together if one label read “every 12 hours” and the other “twice daily” — even though, in this context, they meant the same thing.

To address the problem, researchers have come up with several relatively easy fixes.

Universal medication schedules: Instead of asking patients to decipher perplexing labels, labels would set out four standard times — morning, noon, evening, bedtime — for taking drugs. Nearly all drugs can be made to fit into this schedule, which could help patients group pills so they are less likely to take unnecessarily frequent doses, skip them or just give up altogether.

Consistent appearances: Older people often rely on the size, shape and color of pills and capsules to remember what to take and when. But because pharmacies constantly negotiate for lower prices on generic drugs and frequently change suppliers, the appearance of pills changes quite often. If the Food and Drug Administration required manufacturers to produce generic drugs that mimic the colors and shapes of the patented brand-name drugs they replace that could help address the problem.

Medication therapy management: Older people can now take advantage of a free program available through Medicare Part D called “Medication therapy management.” The program, offered by private insurers that cover drugs, helps keeps seniors on appropriate drug schedules by reviewing his or her prescriptions, doses, costs, and other questions for older people who have several chronic conditions and take multiple medications.