Older people say that they would like to take less medicines…

Many doctors report that patients resist suggestions to discontinue medications during deprescribing efforts. Researchers have recently published data that critically examines this issue in more detail, with the study appearing in JAMA Internal Medicine. Responses to two statements in a structured questionnaire were examined (“If my doctor said it was possible, I would be willing to stop one or more of my regular medicines” and “I would like to reduce the number of medicines I am taking”). Of the 1981 people included in the study, 1752 (92.0%) reported being willing to stop taking one or more of their medicines if their doctor said it was possible, and 1241 (66.6%) wanted to reduce the number of medicines that they were taking. The effect was more pronounced amongst those taking six or more medications . Although the results of this research are affirming for those seeking to undertake prescribing, human nature being what it is, it would be interesting to see how many people would translate these findings into action, and would actually agree to take less medication if offered the opportunity.