Healthcare providers are increasingly participating in a practice known as de-prescribing, or cutting down on the number of prescriptions a patient takes to reduce excessive use, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Here are five things to know:
1. Of patients in their 60s, almost 40 percent are taking more than five medications.
2. To lower this figure, physicians conduct comprehensive medication reviews to determine which drugs they can decrease the dosage or de-prescribe if they do not benefit a patient's overall health.
3. Alongside pharmacist Barbara Farrell, Cara Tannenbaum, MD, created the website, deprescribing.org, which allows physicians in the Untied States and Canada to obtain information to help them assess if a patient should cease taking certain medications that are unnecessary or even harmful. Canadian Deprescribing Network maintains the site.
4. In 2015, The American Geriatric Society updated its Beers Criteria, which features a list of 40 medications or classes of drugs that the society deems as possibly inappropriate for older adults. The American Geriatric Society added three new drugs and two new classes of medications to its warning lists for older adults or people with certain health concerns last year. Currently, an expert panel is working on an update for that list for 2018.
5. Physicians have issued warnings about using sedatives in older adults and recently, there have been warnings about proton pump inhibitors. WSJ reports new studies show an association between these pumps and a higher risk for bone loss, fractures and serious bacterial infections.
More articles on quality & infection control:
Survey: 90% of RNs say facilities should focus more on leadership skill development — 5 highlights
Health IT organizations call for HHS collaboration on enhanced patient identification solutions: 5 insights
Physicians around the globe worry about climate change & its impact on patient care — 5 things to know
