WA Centre for Health and Ageing

29/08/2024

Deprescribing for older people in hospital followed up for 12 months was tested in the AusTAPER study. We showed that a structured, collaborative medication review can reduce meds and save costs with no change to health outcomes.

Background and Aims Potentially harmful polypharmacy is a growing public health concern. This article aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured Team Approach to Polypharmacy Evaluation and ...

21/08/2024

Deprescribing can be safely implemented with proper guidelines.

Amanda Quek and Professor Christopher Etherton-Beer have led a new systematic review that evaluates the impact of deprescribing in older people, focusing on the outcomes of discontinuing unnecessary medications. The review found that deprescribing, when done according to well-defined guidelines, can reduce the risk of adverse drug reactions and improve overall health outcomes. However, the study also emphasizes the importance of a patient-centered approach, involving both patients and healthcare providers in the decision-making process. The authors recommend the development of clear protocols and training for healthcare professionals to ensure safe and effective deprescribing practices.

Aims Previous systematic reviews suggest that deprescribing may improve survival, particularly in frail older people. Evidence is rapidly accumulating, suggesting a need for an updated review of the...

30/05/2024

We have published the protocol to evaluate a community of practice for pharmacists in aged care facilities.

https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/5/e076856

05/02/2024

are ready to do more in to support .

Our survey showed pharmacists are interested and feel prepared to work onsite at both a resident and system level to support residents, families, staff, visiting healthcare professionals and aged care provider organisations.

With funding to support onsite aged care pharmacists predicted to start in 2024 we will see more pharmacists given the opportunity to be truly embedded into multidisciplinary aged care teams to improve safe and effective use of medications.

Background Pharmacists involvement in residential aged care facilities has traditionally been limited to that of an external contractor providing medication reviews, or medication supply. Aim To explore Australian pharmacists’ interest and perceived preparedness to work as on-site pharmacists in r...

04/02/2024

Led by WACHA’s Professor Christopher Etherton-Beer, the OptiMed deprescribing study was a double-blind RCT in RACFs where two pharmacists chose the medicines to target for withdrawal. These medicines were withdrawn for the two active arms (a blind intervention group and an open intervention group) or continued for the blind control group. Overall, OptiMed showed that medicines could be safely withdrawn without impacting health outcomes. The potential cost consequence of the intervention, if rolled out to all RACFs in Australia would be up to $16million annually.

Baseline: bit.ly/3ucx6oG
Outcomes: bit.ly/3Owi8Rj
Process: bit.ly/3SHtVP8
Economic analysis: bit.ly/3SoXKTa

03/02/2024

Deprescribing in residential aged care could save between $1m and $16m annually if rolled out across Australia, according to new research from WA Centre for Health & Ageing led by Professor Christopher Etherton-Beer

02/02/2024

An Australian list of potentially inappropriate medicines now available to improve medicine use for older Australians.

Background Older people are at high risk of medicines-related harms. otentially inappropriate medicines (PIMs) list has been developed to assist clinicians and researchers to identify medicines with...

02/02/2024

Effect of antivirals for COVID-19 on the mortality of older adults dispensed treatment with lithium, antipsychotics, antidepressants, anxiolytics and hypnotics now published in Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry and is available at

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