A young clinician's perspective on deprescribing in elderly patients: A pilot study

Abstract

Background: Young doctors have various barriers and hesitations towards de-prescribing. This study was planned to assess Young Clinician's perspective on deprescribing in elderly population from India. Methodology: Observation cross-sectional study done in a tertiary care hospital of Western Maharashtra. A web link consisting of 12 survey questions was shared on smart phones of postgraduates working in clinical specialties. Attitudes, knowledge, barriers and approach towards deprescribing were assessed. Results: Out of 64 doctors 30 doctors responded and completed the survey. Mean age was 32.6 years. Most common cause for deprescribing was to reduce the adverse drug reactions (76.33%), lack of definite indication (63.33%). Most common drug to be de-prescribed were multivitamins (70.66%), benzodiazepines (46.66%) and antiplatelets (43.33%). The most common barrier for de-prescribing was altering the prescription of another doctor (56.66%), lack of time and concerns on the adverse effect (36.66%). Ninety percent of the doctors were not aware of any deprescribing criteria and 70% did not have any specific approach. Conclusion: Deprescribing of drugs is a very important concept, which needs to be included in training the undergraduate medical students, postgraduate medical students and Pharmacy students.

Keywords

• deprescribing
• elderly
• potentially inappropriate medicines