While polypharmacy is sometimes necessary, it can often lead to adverse drug events, increased costs, and cognitive or functional impairment. This program reviews the risks of polypharmacy and provides practical, evidence-based approaches to identifying and addressing problematic polypharmacy, particularly through deprescribing. Using a patient case, this course will explore practical steps to review, assess and safely taper medications, so that clinicians are equipped with actionable steps to optimise medication use in practice.
Optimising medication use: a guide to deprescribing
UK
RCP
30 min
Medication, Medication Management, Pharmacy
0.5 Credits
Course description
Course details
Expiry Date: 2027-08-31
Professions: GPs, Resident Doctors, Medical Students
Categories: Medication, Medication Management, Pharmacy
Faculty
- Dr. Graham Dunthorne, GP
- Dr. Evan Sun, GP, Clinical Director
Accreditation
This course has been approved for distance-learning CPD credits by the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the UK for 0.5 CPD point(s).
RCP Activity Code Number: 155351
Learning objectives
Upon completion of this continuing education course participants will be better able to:
- Describe the potential consequences of polypharmacy.
- Identify patients who may benefit from deprescribing one or more of their medications.
- Apply evidence-based deprescribing strategies to safely reduce or discontinue medications where appropriate.