medication
[C/U] Both
pl: medications
This term carries a clinical and professional weight, typically referring to substances managed by a healthcare provider. It evokes a sense of structured treatment and therapeutic intent, distancing itself from the more casual or potentially negative connotations of the word drug. In a healthcare setting, it implies a regimen or a prescribed course of action. While a medicine is a single substance, medication often refers to the overall process of using such substances to manage a chronic condition or cure an acute illness.
Uncountable when referring to the general concept of medical treatment (He is on medication). Countable when referring to specific types or brands of drugs (The patient is taking several different medications).