Pharmacist-led deprescribing of cardiovascular and diabetes medication within a clinical medication review: the LeMON study (Less Medicines in Older Patients in the Netherlands), a cluster randomized controlled trial

Background: Deprescribing inappropriate cardiovascular and antidiabetic medication has been shown to be feasible and safe. Healthcare providers often perceive the deprescribing of cardiovascular and antidiabetic medication as a challenge and therefore it is still not widely implemented in daily practice. Aim: The aim was to assess whether training focused on conducting a deprescribing-oriented clinical medication review (CMR) results in a reduction of the inappropriate use of cardiovascular and antidiabetic medicines. Method: A cluster randomized controlled trial involving 20 community pharmacists, who conducted a clinical medication review in 10 patients. The intervention group received training on deprescribing. Patients 70 years or older with polypharmacy having a systolic blood pressure below 140 mmHg and using antihypertensive medication and/or an HbA1c level below 54 mmol/mol and using antidiabetic medication, were included. Follow-up took place within 4 weeks (T1) and after 3 months (T2). The primary outcome measure was the proportion of patients with one or more cardiovascular and antidiabetic medicine deprescribed within 3 months after the CMR (T2). Results: A total of 71 patients in the intervention group and 69 patients in the control group were included. At T2, 32% of patients in the intervention group and 26% in the control group (OR 1.4, CI 0.65–2.82, p = 0.413) had one or more cardiovascular or antidiabetic medicines discontinued. Regarding any medication, these percentages were 51% and 36%, (OR 1.8, CI 0.92–3.56, p = 0.085) respectively. Conclusion: Increased awareness and ability of community pharmacists to deprescribe medication and use of general practitioners’ data, led community pharmacists and general practitioners to successfully conduct a more deprescribing-focused CMR in daily practice. Further research is needed to assess the necessity of additional training to optimize the deprescribing of cardiovascular and antidiabetic medication. The study was registered at The Netherlands Trial Register (registration no: NL8082).