Clinical resources and tools

• Australian Prescriber Optimising oral health in frail older people
  
  
• G-MEDSS Welcome to the Goal-directed Medication review Electronic Decision Support System (G-MEDSS)©
  This website provides tools for healthcare practitioners conducting medication reviews for older patients with and without dementia, to tailor care to meet their goals and preferences. It includes the Goals of Care Management Tool, the Drug Burden Index (DBI) Calculator© and the Revised Patients’ Attitudes Towards Deprescribing (rPATD) questionnaire.
  
  
• Veterans’MATES Topic 39: Thinking clearly about the anticholinergic burden
  This factsheet provides health professionals with information about anticholinergic adverse effects and poor outcomes, medicines that have anticholinergic effects, and management and strategies for reducing anticholinergic burden for veterans and their carers.
  
  
• Veterans’MATES Medicines: the hidden contributor to falls and hip fractures
  This factsheet provides health professionals with information about medicines that contribute to falls and hip fractures in older people.
  
  
• Veterans’MATES Reducing the impact of medicine-induced dry mouth
  This factsheet provides health professionals with information about medicines that contribute to dry mouth and ways to reduce it.
  
  
• Australian Government Department of Health Health assessment for people aged 75 years and older
  This factsheet provides doctors with information about the patient criteria for a health assessment of an older person.
  

• Veterans’MATES Pausing to review the medicine regimen
  This factsheet provides health professionals with information about ways to review a complex medicine regimen and how to align the patient’s regimen with their individual circumstances and preferences.
  
  
• Veterans’MATES Home Medicines Review – the benefits for you and your patients
  This factsheet provides health professionals with information about how a Home Medicines Review (HMR) can benefit veterans and the HMR referral process.
  
  
• Australian Government Department of Health Sample domiciliary medication management referral form
  This sample referral form provides doctors with guidance about what relevant information to include in a HMR referral.
  

• The John A. Hartford Foundation The 4Ms of age-friendly care
  This 3-minute video outlines how to provide the best care possible for older people by using the 4Ms framework.
  

• Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) What is an age-friendly health system?
  This 2-minute video with Mary Tinetti, MD, Chief of Geriatrics at Yale School of Medicine and Yale-New Haven Hospital, describes what it means to be an age-friendly health system.
  

Depression

• Featured Topic Depression: re-examining the management options
• Australian Prescriber Switching and stopping antidepressants
• MedicineWise News Exploring non-drug options in depression

Dementia with changed behaviour

• Featured Topic Dementia and psychotropic medicines
• Australian Prescriber Stopping and switching antipsychotic drugs
• Australian Prescriber Antipsychotic switching tool
• News Dementia and changed behaviours: supporting the person at the centre
• Veterans’MATES Helping your patients with cognitive impairment to live well at home
  This factsheet provides health professionals with information about medicines that contribute to cognitive impairment, and Department of Veterans’ Affairs-funded cognitive, dementia and memory assistive aids.
  

Insomnia

• Australian Prescriber Management of insomnia in primary care
• News Managing benzodiazepine dependence in primary care
• Veterans’MATES Helping veterans learn to sleep well
  This factsheet provides health professionals with information about cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBTi) as the first-line treatment and a guide for tapering hypnotic use.
  

Chronic non-cancer pain

• Featured Topic Opioids, chronic pain and the bigger picture
• Australian Prescriber Pharmacological management of chronic non-cancer pain in frail older people
• Australian Prescriber Management of postsurgical pain in the community
• Australian Prescriber Principles of prescribing for persistent non-cancer pain
• Australian Prescriber The non-pharmacological treatment of back pain
• MedicineWise News 5 steps to tapering opioids for patients with chronic non-cancer pain
• MedicineWise News If not opioids, then what?
• MedicineWise News Patient-centred, pragmatic prescribing for acute non-specific low back pain

Deprescribing resources

• NSW Therapeutic Advisory Group Inc. Deprescribing tools
  These deprescribing resources have been developed by a translational research project team led by Professor Sarah Hilmer for health professionals to support deprescribing in older hospital patients.
  

• Primary Health Tasmania Deprescribing resources
  These guides outline recommended deprescribing strategies for a range of commonly used medicines, where ongoing use is not appropriate. They have been revised and updated by geriatrician Dr David Dunbabin, GP Dr Amanda Lo and pharmacist Dr Peter Tenni.
  

• Canadian Deprescribing Network Deprescribing algorithms
  These evidence-based guidelines for deprescribing were developed by researchers from the Bruyère Research Institute and the Ontario Pharmacy Research Collaboration. Each guideline is summarised in an easy-to-use algorithm and information brochure. These algorithms can help health professionals safely stop or reduce medicines for specific drug classes.