Creating and Testing a Tool to Help Reduce Unnecessary Medicines in Indian Elderly Patients A Study to See If This Tool Improves Medicine Safety and Quality

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating whether a deprescribing tool can help reduce prescriptions with potentially inappropriate medications PIMs among elderly patients in India. The study aims to determine if inappropriate polypharmacy can be lowered by developing and implementing a tool tailored to the Indian context, where medication use patterns differ from other countries. This trial compares outcomes between physicians who use the deprescribing tool and those who follow routine prescribing practices. In this multicenter study, physicians are randomly assigned to either a control group that prescribes as usual or an intervention group that uses the deprescribing tool during patient consultations. The tool guides medication review and deprescribing decisions, such as stopping duplicate drugs, tapering unnecessary medications, or reducing doses. Patients aged 60 years and older receive routine care from their assigned physician, and prescriptions are collected for evaluation. Participants are followed for one month after the consultation to monitor adverse events, including hospitalizations. Data collected include the proportion of prescriptions containing PIMs, average number of PIMs per prescription, deprescribing rates, and potential adverse drug reactions or interactions. Researchers assess the impact of the tool on improving prescription quality and reducing medication-related risks, with the total participation lasting from enrollment through follow-up.

Development, Validation and Evaluation of a Deprescribing Tool