Value assessment of deprescribing interventions: suggestions for improvement

Polypharmacy and the inappropriate use of medications is a prevalent, potentially harmful, and costly problem that can be addressed by deprescribing, which is defined as the “systematic process of identifying and discontinuing drugs when existing or potential harms outweigh existing or potential benefits within the context of an individual patient's care goals, functional status, life expectancy, values, and preferences.”1 Evidence from clinical trials has demonstrated that deprescribing interventions can reduce the number of potentially inappropriate medications; yet the next question of whether such interventions are cost-effective is often unanswered.2 In this commentary, we describe current practices in assessing the value of deprescribing interventions and their limitations, and then suggest potential improvements.