With my background in pharmacy, I spend a lot of time thinking about medications. In my experience, we typically seem more concerned with adding or keeping medications, not taking them away. Today I want to touch on deprescribing, which involves ways to potentially reduce or remove the number of medications that are being used by an individual.
When I think about it, deprescribing is very important. How many people end up on a medication and continue to take it for years when they may no longer need it? Maybe someone takes a medication that gives them certain side effects, and they start taking another medication to treat the side effects. Is the medication worth the side effects if you have to use another medication to treat them? Or, if the medication is beneficial, could the dose be lowered to minimize the side effects and maintain a benefit? Perhaps the medication does not seem to cause any noticeable or bothersome side effects, but it doesn’t seem to provide any benefit either. Is there any reason to continue a medication if it doesn’t seem to be helping? These are all questions that reflect the need to consider deprescribing.
Of course, there are potential risks with deprescribing, and it is something that should be considered and undertaken with a health care provider. Many medications should not be stopped cold turkey, and many would be safer if they are tapered off over time. And, since every individual has a different medication regimen, deprescribing is going to look different for everybody, and some people may not be candidates for deprescribing at all.
Overall, I think deprescribing should be considered every time there is a visit with a health care provider. Like others things in life, less can be more, and it is important to consider what medications are truly needed. And, by talking about deprescribing, I am not saying that we get rid of all medications. Many medications can be helpful and have a place in treatment, but in my opinion they are not always the only answer. Regardless, I encourage everyone to consider having a discussion with their provider about reducing or removing some of the medications that may no longer be needed.