A Study on the Perceptions of Korean Older Adult Patients and Caregivers about Polypharmacy and Deprescribing

Abstract

Polypharmacy is continuously increasing among older adults. The resultant potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) can be harmful to patient health. Deprescribing refers to stopping or reducing PIMs. In this study, the current status of polypharmacy and willingness of older adults to deprescribe were investigated among patients and caregivers who are not associated with one another. The survey used the Korean translated version of the revised Patients’ Attitude Towards Deprescribing (rPATD) Scale. Data were collected through an online survey of 500 participants (250 patients and caregivers each) in this study. The following results were found for patients and caregivers, respectively: 74.8% and 63.6% felt their number of medications was high, 64.4% and 55.6% desired to reduce their medications, 70.4% and 60.8% were concerned about medication discontinuation, 63.2% and 61.2% had a good understanding of their medications, 77.6% and 76.4% were willing to be well informed, and 79.6% and 72% wanted to reduce the number of medications if medically feasible. Patients and caregivers commonly agreed to the burden of the number of medications they were taking, and were willing to reduce the number of medications if the doctor said it was possible. Doctors should consider this information during the deprescribing process, and promote deprescription while involving patients and caregivers in the decision-making process.

Potentially inappropriate medication use and associated factors in residents of long-term care facilities: A nationwide cohort study

“…This was different from the most common cause of deprescribing in other specialties such as ADRs ( Goyal et al, 2020 ). Also, most patients and caregivers (77.6% and 76.4%, respectively) in Korea wanted to reduce the number of medications ( Lee et al, 2022 ).…”

Consultation-Based Deprescribing Service to Optimize Palliative Care for Terminal Cancer Patients

“…The significance of deprescribing is also acknowledged not only by healthcare professionals but also by patients and caregivers. One study revealed that over 70% of patients wished to reduce the number of prescriptions, if feasible [19]. Consequently, guidelines such as OncPal [20] and STOPPFrail [21] have been developed to facilitate improved outcomes for advanced cancer patients.…”