Innovation Case Study
McCarthy D. Reducing Inappropriate Medication Use by Implementing Deprescribing Guidelines. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Institute for Healthcare Improvement; 2017. (Available at ihi.org)
A multidisciplinary team of clinical experts in Ottawa, Canada, created a credible, low-cost process for developing and implementing evidence-based deprescribing guidelines and tools for assessing, tapering, and stopping medications that may cause harm or no longer benefit patients.
Although the guidelines led primary care teams to consider approaches for identifying such medications and engaging patients in conversations about discontinuing them, the intervention has thus far been more successful in long-term care settings, where it strengthened team-based medication reviews in fulfillment of routine quality improvement and reporting requirements.
Implementation Guide
Pelton L, Knihtila M. Reducing Inappropriate Medication Use by Implementing Deprescribing Guidelines — Implementation Guide. Boston, Massachusetts: Institute for Healthcare Improvement; 2018. (Available at ihi.org)
The accompanying Implementation Guide provides details on implementing the deprescribing innovation based on the experience of US health care systems participating in the International Innovations Network Learning and Action Community, led by The Commonwealth Fund and IHI.
