Searching for Success Factors in Deprescribing Proposals from Community Pharmacists

Background: Polypharmacy is one of the most critical issues worldwide, especially in elderly people. In Japan, fees to support deprescription were established in 2018 which are calculated as the community pharmacists propose deprescribing in patients prescribed 6 or more medications regularly by submitting documents to the prescribing doctor, who may withdraw 2 or more medications. However, these are hardly calculated though many deprescribing proposals submitted.ObjectiveThe objective in this study, success factors in deprescribing proposals from the community pharmacists to prescribing doctors were searched for.MethodsTracing reports submitted from Aug 2017 to Mar 2020 were investigated retrospectively and factors that influenced the success of deprescribing were searched for.ResultsOne hundred and twenty-three tracing reports (67 reports of successful deprescribing and 56 reports of failure, success rate was 54.5%) were submitted to the prescribing doctors. Deprescribing proposals with existing unused medications or an assessment of possible adverse events significantly increased the deprescribing success rate. Whether the pharmacist experienced face-to-face communication with the prescribing doctors was not significant.ConclusionTracing reports with deprescribing proposals submitted by the community pharmacists may resolve polypharmacy. Mentioning unused medications or possible adverse events could increase the deprescribing success rate.