Retrospective analysis of a pilot pharmacist-led hospice deprescribing program initiative

Medication deprescribing in palliative care settings has been insufficiently studied.

To determine the feasibility of a deprescribing program in hospice patients with limited life expectancy.

Pharmacist-led, single arm, single-centered, retrospective analysis of a pilot deprescribing program in an integrated healthcare delivery organization between 9/1/2018 to 1/31/2019.

The primary outcome was the proportion of patients who achieved ≥50% reduction of the recommended medications to deprescribe.

A total of 97 patients were included in the analysis. The average age was 77.5 ± 23.7 years, with 53.6% being women and 54.6% white. The most common primary diagnosis was cancer (58.8%), with cardiovascular disease the next most common (15.5%). The mean number of baseline comorbidities was 2.0 ± 1.6. Of 698 prescriptions at the start of hospice enrollment, 79.4% of patients achieved a ≥50% reduction in medications recommended for deprescribing. This success was seen mostly in cardiovascular and other nonspecific medications. We found that every 1-unit increase in the number of patient encounters with hospice pharmacists was associated with a 3.2-fold higher odds of achieving a ≥50% reduction in medications that were recommended for deprescribing.

The findings from this pilot study revealed that a collaborative, pharmacist-led, collaborative medication deprescribing program initiative was associated with a 79% success in ≥50% medication reduction. More frequent patient encounters had higher odds of success. Future studies, utilizing a control group, should focus on determining the effectiveness of the program and the impact on quality of life.