Five years after the Lown Institute’s report on medication overload was published, this issue continues to be relevant in American health care. What are the harms of medication overload, how can you avoid it, and what policy changes do we need? More
How can we combat cognitive biases and reduce overuse? Recent studies provide insights for "nudging" doctors away from low-value care. More
Overprescribing of antibiotics for Medicare patients with Covid-19 was rampant in the first year of the pandemic, research from the CDC finds. More
A newly-developed metric of low-value prescribing practices helps fill an important gap in the research of overuse metrics. More
To reduce harmful overmedication, we need to give doctors and patients opportunities to deprescribe. One pharmacy benefit manager has already started providing prescription checkups for their members -- here's how their program is working so far. More
The Medsafer study shows how clinical decision tools can help doctors deprescribe more in the hospital. More
Overuse of antipsychotic medications is a long-standing problem among nursing home residents with dementia. However, a 2012 policy to address the problem may have unintentionally created a new problem of overdiagnosis. More
A quirk in the electronic health record system means that it's much harder for clinicians to discontinue medications than prescribe them. More
New research shows that older adults facing social isolation are also put at greater risk of overmedication. More
Stopping harmful medications sounds simple, but it can be much harder in practice. How can we take what we've learned from deprescribing trials and scale them up? Dr. Justin Turner explains in a webinar hosted by the US Deprescribing Research Network. More
How can we remove the barriers and make pharmacists our deprescribing heroes? In their recent piece in Senior Care Pharmacist, Judith Garber and Don Downing create a roadmap for collaboration. More
The Covid-19 pandemic has ushered in the era of telehealth. But are there unintended consequences for overprescribing? More
In a new study, researchers found that 34% of older adults were prescribed a potentially inappropriate medication. People taking five or more medications were much more likely to have received an inappropriate medication. More
In a keynote address for the US Deprescribing Research Network Conference, Dr. Cara Tannenbaum urged participants to reimagine the future of deprescribing research. More
We spoke with Dr. Tom Perry, clinical associate professor at UBC to ask him about practical ways to avoid medication overload and the assumptions about medications we need to rethink in our society. More
Members of the Lown Institute Working Group on Medication Overload gave a webinar presentation last week, which is available to watch now! More
In the Health Affairs blog, Lown VP Shannon Brownlee, and Maisha Draves and Lynn Deguzman from Kaiser Permanente describe what it takes to implement prescription checkups for patients who need it. More
Dr. Cara Tannenbaum gives tips for when and how to have deprescribing conversations, at a Grand Rounds talk at the Brigham and Women's Hospital. More
Lown Institute just released Eliminating Medication Overload: A National Action Plan. More
The Boston Globe highlights the problem of medication overload and provides a sneak peek of the upcoming Lown action plan. More