deprescribing

Definition

The clinical process of systematically reviewing, reducing, or discontinuing medications that are no longer beneficial or may be causing harm to a patient.

Etymology

The term is a modern medical neologism formed by adding the prefix 'de-' (indicating removal or reversal) to the verb 'prescribe' (from Latin 'praescribere', meaning to write before or order).

In the news

In the article, deprescribing is discussed as a potentially dangerous ideological movement when promoted as a universal default rather than a careful, individualized clinical decision.

MAHA is rewriting the vocabulary of American mental health care

STAT

Related words