Deprescribing tools: a review of the types of tools available to aid deprescribing in clinical practice

Abstract

The importance of deprescribing, which is the process of withdrawing an inappropriate medication, supervised by a healthcare professional with the goal of managing polypharmacy and improving outcomes, is increasingly recognised as part of good clinical care. With this, a number of tools have been developed with the purpose of aiding health professionals to deprescribe in regular practice. The types of tools vary significantly in their form and include tools to aid in the overall process of deprescribing (such as generic frameworks and drug-specific deprescribing guidelines) as well as tools that may assist in a specific part of the process (such as identifying inappropriate medications or engaging the patient). While many tools are available, most provide little (if any) information on how they were developed, and limited implementation research has been conducted. This paper provides an overview of the types of available tools and how they might be used in clinical practice.