What follow-up measures should I implement after deprescribing to monitor patient outcomes and medication adherence?

After deprescribing, follow-up measures should include offering extra, unscheduled reviews when needed, especially if the patient reports adverse effects, changes in health or social circumstances, or requests dose changes. These reviews should involve discussing benefits and risks of continuing, adjusting, or stopping the medicine, and updating the management plan with the patient, ensuring they know who to contact if problems arise.

Regular monitoring of symptoms and side effects is essential, with reviews tailored to the individual’s clinical progress and circumstances. For example, when stopping antidepressants, patients should be advised to taper doses gradually and be monitored for withdrawal symptoms and symptom recurrence.

Use of validated outcome measures and self-monitoring tools can help track patient progress and adherence, enabling shared decision-making and timely intervention if problems develop.

Overall, follow-up should be flexible, patient-centred, and responsive to changes in the patient’s condition or preferences, ensuring safe withdrawal and maintenance of treatment benefits.

References: ¹,²,³