Effects of a pilot multidisciplinary clinic for frequent attending elderly patients on deprescribing.

Conclusions Patients who attended the THRIVE clinic had a significant reduction in medication count and tablet load. The pilot study demonstrates the potential benefits of a multidisciplinary out-patient clinic to improve prescribing and reduce unwarranted medications in an elderly population. An adequately powered comparative study would allow assessment of clinical outcomes and costs.What is known about the topic? Elderly patients are prone to polypharmacy. The identification and deprescribing of potentially inappropriate medications is effective in reducing adverse drug events in this population. However, acute hospitalisation is not always the ideal setting to initiate deprescribing.What does the paper add? Intensive multidisciplinary out-patient care for frequently re-admitted patients optimises their medication management plan and helps reduce the use of unwarranted medications.What are the implications for practitioners? Effective deprescribing in elderly patients can be achieved after hospital discharge using a multidisciplinary collaborative model, but costs and clinical benefits require further investigation. PMID: 26143171 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Australian Health Review - Category: Hospital Management Authors: Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: research