Monash University is launching a nation-wide program to give general practitioners, pharmacists and nurses the support and confidence to deprescribe medicines that are causing harm or are no longer helpful.
SUPPORT-Meds is funded by a $5 million Quality Use of Diagnostics, Therapeutics and Pathology (QUDTP) grant from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, and takes aim at high-risk medicines.
Using a nationwide network of ‘knowledge brokers’ as well as online learning and evidence-based resources, the program will first focus on deprescribing medicines for sleep (benzodiazepines and Z-drugs) in older people, and opioids for persistent noncancer pain. It will then expand to include proton pump inhibitors, antipsychotics for changed behaviours in people living with dementia, NSAIDs, and gabapentinoids (gabapentin and pregabalin) for pain.
Dr Emily Reeve, an Associate Professor at the Centre for Medicine Use and Safety at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences who leads the program, said the goal is to protect Australians from adverse events that come with unnecessary or inappropriate medicines.
“We know unnecessary medicine use is prevalent across Australia, and the risks of long-term use outweigh the benefits to the individual,” Dr Reeve said.
“That’s why we’re equipping health professionals working in primary care with the practical skills, communication strategies and resources they need to safely deprescribe certain medicines.
“Using sleeping pills long-term, for example, may only buy a person less than half an hour of extra sleep when first used. With long-term use, this benefit vanishes, but significant risks such as falls and fractures remain.”
Professor Parker Magin, an experienced GP and member of the initiative’s Advisory Group, said that deprescribing can be challenging in practice: “As GPs, we’re trained to prescribe, but knowing when and how to safely stop or reduce a medication is just as important. This program gives clinicians across Australia the confidence and the practical tools to have these conversations and start a deprescribing plan.”
Dr Janney Wale, a consumer representative and Advisory Group member, said the program could make a real difference in how people feel day-to-day: “Most of us don’t realise how much unnecessary medication can affect our quality of life. Side effects, costs and the risks of serious harm build up over time. Deprescribing is about managing our medicines, not about taking things away. It’s about making sure every medicine we’re on is actually doing something for us.”
SUPPORT-Meds aims to bridge the gap between existing evidence-based guidelines and everyday clinical practice by providing practical, evidence-based resources adapted from tools initially developed in Canada.
These include consumer information about the benefits and harms of medicine, a communication tool and deprescribing algorithm for health professionals, and an online tapering calculator to create user friendly tapering schedules.
Free accredited education will be delivered as online self-paced learning, or face-to-face, by a nationwide network of dedicated ‘knowledge brokers’, experts who will contextualise the education to the local practice of healthcare professionals.
“By combining targeted education with evidence-based resources, we’re empowering doctors, pharmacists and nurses to have confident, informed conversations with patients about when it is time to stop a medication,” Dr Reeve said.
“Australia historically led the way in deprescribing, in fact the term ‘deprescribing’ actually first appeared in literature from Australian authors. Now, we are translating a decade of global research into localised action.”
The SUPPORT-Meds initiative is a collaboration between Monash University and the peak professional bodies Ageing Australia, the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association, the New South Wales Therapeutic Advisory Group, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, along with partner organisations including the Australian College of Nurse Practitioners, Advanced Pharmacy Australia and the Australasian Sleep Association.
The program has been designed by leading Australian experts, health professionals and consumers with lived experience, ensuring the resources reflect the real-world experiences of both prescribers and patients.
