Deprescribing is the process of reducing or stopping medications that may no longer be beneficial or could be causing harm.
Over time it is important to regularly review medications to ensure they are still helpful
Why consider deprescribing?
Taking many different medicines when they are no longer helping can cause problems like confusion, falls and unwanted side effects.
Reducing or stopping medicines that are no longer of value can reduce these risks.
When might deprescribing be appropriate?
Your doctor or nurse may suggest reviewing your medicines if:
- A medicine no longer helps you in the way that it used to
- The risks are now higher than the benefits
- You experience side effects
- You are struggling to swallow the medicine
Common medicines considered for deprescribing
Some medicines are reviewed because they may not provide much benefit if an illness is advancing and prognosis is short
- Cholesterol lowering medicines are of no benefit towards the end of life
- Dementia medicines – they may not help in the later stages of a dementia illness and can cause falls and sleep disturbance
- Blood pressure often reduces in advanced illness or weight loss, so blood pressure medicines can often be safely stopped
How is deprescribing done safely?
Never stop a medicine on your own. Some medicines need to be reduced gradually rather than stopped suddenly e.g. steroids.
Your doctor or nurse will:
- Review all medicines – including prescription, over-the-counter, and herbal remedies
- Check risks and benefits to decide which medicines are still helpful
- Make decisions together with patients and their carers
- Arrange follow up or monitoring if required
Top Tips:
- Ask your doctor if each medicine is still needed
- Talk about any side effects or problems you’ve noticed
- Discuss how your medicines affect your daily life
- Be honest about how you take your medicines