Highlights

Rochon, PA et al. Polypharmacy, Inappropriate Prescribing, and Deprescribing in Older People: Through a Sex and Gender Lens. Lancet Healthy Longev. 2021 May; 2(5) e290-300. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2666-7568(21)00054-4 Appropriate prescribing and medication optimization is important as older adults age, but little attention has been paid to the sex and gender differences of prescribing in older age. […]

Gurwitz JH, Kapoor A, Garber L, et al. Effect of a Multifaceted Clinical Pharmacist Intervention on Medication Safety After Hospitalization in Persons Prescribed High-risk Medications: A Randomized Controlled Trial. JAMA Intern Med. Mar 2021. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.9285 A randomized clinical trial recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine sought to test the effects of a pharmacist-led intervention to

Green AR, et al. Designing a Primary Care-Based Deprescribing Intervention for Patients with Dementia and Multiple Chronic Conditions: A Qualitative Study. J Gen Intern Med. 2020 Dec;35(12):3556-63. DOI: 10.1007/s11606-020-06063-y. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University and Kaiser Permanente Colorado conducted a qualitative study to determine patient, caregiver, and physician preferences for discussing deprescribing in primary care

Kerr EA, et al. Identifying recommendations for stopping or scaling back unnecessary routine services in primary care. JAMA Intern Med. 2020;180(11):1500-1508. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.4001 A recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine examined and validated recommendations for avoiding unnecessary and excessive health care services in primary care settings. Dr. Eve Kerr and team at the University of

Aubert C, et al. Outcome Measures for Interventions to Reduce Inappropriate Chronic Drugs: A Narrative Review. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2020; doi: 10.1111/jgs.16697 A new review study examined outcome measures used in deprescribing interventions. Primary author Carole Aubert, MD out of the University of Michigan and team first identified relevant measures and then sought to

Sheppard J, et al. Effect of Antihypertensive Medication Reduction vs Usual Care on Short-term Blood Pressure Control in Patients with Hypertension Aged 80 Years and Older. JAMA. 2020; doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.4871 Researchers from the University of Oxford conducted a randomized, noninferiority, unblinded study to determine whether deprescribing antihypertensive medications in older patients had an effect on

The IMPACT Collaboratory released two new Requests for Applications (RFAs) for conducting pragmatic trials in persons with AD/ADRD on April 20: Request for Applications for 1-year ePCT pilot studies for up to $175,000 (direct costs) In response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-2019) outbreak, in this award cycle, the IMPACT Collaboratory will prioritize applications proposing pilot

A task force convened by the Peter Lamy Center on Drug Therapy and Aging at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy with assistance from the US Deprescribing Research Network has released a new implementation guide to optimize medications. Its goal is to improve resident-centered health and well-being by reducing use of unnecessary medications, simplifying

Ross S, et al. Adverse Drug Events in Older Adults: Review of Adjudication Methods in Deprescribing Studies. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2020; doi: 10.1111/jgs.16382 A recent review article published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society examined adverse drug event (ADE) adjudication methods in deprescribing studies. Ross and colleagues of McGill University in Montreal,

Medication overload is an epidemic among older Americans. Every day, 750 Americans age 65 and over are hospitalized for a side effect caused by one more medications.   To eliminate medication overload, significant cultural, educational, and policy changes are needed. The Lown Institute has just released Eliminating Medication Overload: A National Action Plan, with recommendations for