Potentially inappropriate medications continue to represent a major health challenge for seniors in Canada, despite efforts to reduce their use. A recent study sheds light on worrying trends and the actions needed to remedy them.
Potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) are drugs whose disadvantages may outweigh their benefits, which may be ineffective, or for which a safer alternative exists. In Canada, prescribing PIMs remains a persistent problem for the elderly, although progress is being made. Emily McDonald, Professor at McGill University, Director of the Canadian Medication Appropriateness and Deprescribing Network, and member of the QPRN, has taken a keen interest in this issue, and supervised a study on the subject. This study revealed that, despite an overall reduction in spending on IPMs in Canada, exposure to gabapentinoids, proton pump inhibitors and antipsychotics increased between 2013 and 2021. These drugs present significant health risks for seniors, such as falls, fractures and increased strain on the healthcare system. De-prescribing, or stopping the use of these drugs, is emerging as an essential strategy for reducing these risks and improving quality of care. The study highlights the importance of a targeted approach to limiting the use of these drugs, and of further exploring gender differences in their prescription. Emily McDonald is now disseminating these findings, and was recently invited by the Queen of Belgium and the Academies of Medicine to speak at the second Queen’s Symposium on Mental Health in Brussels, on the theme of Mental Health and the Elderly: the ABCs of Appropriate Prescribing in Belgium and Canada.
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