Deprescribing: Moving beyond barriers and facilitators

Abstract

Unnecessary polypharmacy continues to be a problem among older adults. The field of deprescribing (planned, supervised process of medication discontinuation) aims to address this problem. Deprescribing is a relatively new field despite having grown substantially in recent years. Much of the early research in this area focused on identifying barriers to and facilitators of deprescribing in clinical practice, which contributed to a large body of work on this topic. However, with continuing research around barriers and facilitators, we need to be mindful to undertake research that builds on existing knowledge, addresses known gaps, and advances the field. Additionally, there is a need in deprescribing research to shift focus to developing ways to address known barriers and harness knowledge of facilitators. That is, translating existing knowledge into strategies and tools that can impact clinical practice and lead to practical and sustained deprescribing efforts.

Keywords: Deprescribing; Knowledge translation; Polypharmacy.