Mr. J, age 73, has a 25-year history of generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder. His medical history includes hypertension, hyperlipidemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, osteoarthritis, insomnia, and allergic rhinitis. His last laboratory test results indicate his hemoglobin A1c, thyroid-stimulating hormone, low-density lipoprotein, and blood pressure measurements are at goal. He believes his conditions are well controlled but cites concerns about taking multiple medications each day and being able to afford his medications.
You review the list of Mr. J’s current prescription medications, which include alprazolam 0.5 mg/d, atorvastatin 40 mg/d, escitalopram 10 mg/d, levothyroxine 0.125 mg/d, lisinopril 20 mg/d, and metformin XR 1,000 mg/d. Mr. J reports taking over-the-counter (OTC) acetaminophen as needed for pain, diphenhydramine for insomnia, loratadine as needed for allergic rhinitis, and omeprazole for 2 years for indigestion. After further questioning, he also reports taking ginseng, milk thistle, a multivitamin, and, based on a friend’s recommendation, St John’s Wort (Table 1).
Similar to Mr. J, many older adults take multiple medications to manage chronic health conditions and promote their overall health. On average, 30% of older adults take ≥5 medications.1 Among commonly prescribed medications for these patients, an estimated 1 in 5 of may be inappropriate.1 Older adults have high rates of polypharmacy (often defined as taking ≥5 medications1), age-related physiological changes, increased number of comorbidities, and frailty, all of which can increase the risk of medication-related adverse events.2 As a result, older patients’ medications should be regularly evaluated to determine if each medication is appropriate to continue or should be tapered or stopped.
Deprescribing, in which medications are tapered or discontinued using a patient-centered approach, should be considered when a patient is no longer receiving benefit from a medication, or when the harm may exceed the benefit.1,3While both patients and prescribing clinicians may have concerns about deprescribing, studies suggest that for most older adults, careful deprescribing of antihypertensives, psychotropics, and benzodiazepines can be done without causing harm.4 Removing unnecessary medications can reduce the risk of falls, and improve motor function and cognitive performance.2,3,5
Several researchers1,3 and organizations have published detailed descriptions of and guidelines for the process of deprescribing (see Related Resources). Here we provide a brief overview of this process (Figure1,3). The first step is to assemble a list of all prescription and OTC medications, herbal products, vitamins, or nutritional supplements the patient is taking. It is important to specifically ask patients about their use of nonprescription products, because these products are infrequently documented in medical records.
The second step is to evaluate the indication, effectiveness, safety, and patient’s adherence to each medication while beginning to consider opportunities to limit treatment burden and the risk of harm from medications. Ideally, this assessment should involve a patient-centered conversation that considers the patient’s goals, preferences, and treatment values. Many resources can be used to evaluate which medications might be inappropriate for an older adult. Two examples are the American Geriatrics Society Beers Criteria5 and STOPP/START criteria.6 By looking at these resources, you could identify that (for example) anticholinergic medications should be avoided in older patients due to an increased risk of adverse effects, change in cognitive status, and falls.5,6 These resources can aid in identifying, prioritizing, and deprescribing potentially harmful and/or inappropriate medications.
The next step is to decide whether any medications should be discontinued. Whenever possible, include the patient in this conversation, as they may have strong feelings about their current medication regimen. When there are multiple medications that can be discontinued, consider which medication to stop first based on potential harm, patient resistance, and other factors.
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