Low-value Care

Debate rages over whether FDA should use emergency powers to clear a coronavirus vaccine early

Abstract: Speeding the process could save thousands of lives, but some say it might also make it easier for the White House to push regulators to clear an unproven vaccine before Election Day.

Publication: The Washington Post

Date Published: September 2, 2020

Author(s): Laurie McGinley and Carolyn Y. Johnson

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To eliminate medication overload, serious cultural, educational, and policy changes are needed. This action plan offers recommendations for policymakers, health care institutions, clinicians, and patients across five key categories to reduce harm from multiple medication use. Suggested Citation: Eliminating medication overload: A national action plan. Working Group on Medication Overload. Brookline, MA: The Lown Institute, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.46241/LI.YLBW4885

Pharmaceutical marketing is a significant factor in the growing public health crisis of medication overload, which puts millions of older adults at risk of preventable harm and premature death. This issue brief provides recommendations to reduce pharmaceutical industry influence by limiting pharma sales rep visits to clinicians and direct-to-consumer advertising.

This issue brief provides recommendations for clinical practice guidelines and electronic health records that would give clinicians the information they need to appropriately prescribe and deprescribe.