A Randomized Controlled Trial to Deprescribe for Older Patients With Polypharmacy

This randomized, controlled trial will evaluate the effects of an intervention to reduce exposure to medications among hospitalized older adults discharged to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). This study will be conducted in one university-affiliated hospital and 14 area SNFs to enroll approximately 1,300 total participants across five project years. Patients discharged to SNF represent the largest segment of Medicare beneficiaries discharged to post-acute care services and are a particularly high risk group for loss of independence and other poor clinical outcomes. This investigative team recently completed a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Award, which provides strong preliminary data related to the prevalence of polypharmacy and the relationship between polypharmacy and geriatric syndromes (e.g., medications associated with falls) in this patient population. Based on these data, the investigators developed a structured deprescribing intervention protocol ("Shed-Meds") coupled with standardized screening assessments for eight geriatric syndromes to be implemented in the hospital and continued during the SNF stay. The goal of the intervention is to safely deprescribe medications, as defined by dose reductions and stopped medications, based on a combination of clinical criteria and patient preferences. This trial will evaluate the effects of this intervention on medication exposure, medication adherence, geriatric syndromes, and health status across the care transitions from hospital to SNF to home to include a 90-day follow-up period after SNF discharge. The overarching hypothesis is that reducing medications for older patients across the continuum of care will favorably impact geriatric syndromes.

Inclusion criteria

• Hospitalized at Vanderbilt University Medical Center
• Medicare-eligible
• Discharged from VUMC to a post acute care facility
• Has polypharmacy as defined by > 5 medications
• Able to self-consent or has a proxy (surrogate)
• Speaks English (due to interview-based assessments)
• Primary home residence within one of 9 surrounding counties (due to home visit during follow-up phase)

Exclusion criteria

• Resides in long-term care
• Is currently on hospice or otherwise has a limited life expectancy (< 6 months).
• Enrolled in a clinical drug trial
• Has Stage IV Cancer Diagnosis
• Incarcerated or homeless
• Unable to self-consent and does not have a surrogate