Comment on: “Patient Perceptions of Opioids and Benzodiazepines and Attitudes Toward Deprescribing”

Excerpt

We read with enthusiasm the article by Kelley et al. entitled “Patient Perceptions of Opioids and Benzodiazepines and Attitudes Toward Deprescribing”, [1] published in Drugs & Aging. The authors identified a range of pertinent barriers and facilitators to deprescribing opioids and benzodiazepines from the perspectives of older adults in the USA. Despite contextual differences in the healthcare and policy environments of the USA and Australia, we note significant commonality between the findings of this study and the perspectives of Australian consumers taking opioids for pain [2]. Key facilitators for deprescribing across both studies include slow medication tapering, substitute treatments for symptom management, instructions for monitoring of adverse events and strong therapeutic relationships between patients and providers [1, 2]. Similarly, reported barriers to deprescribing, including concerns about symptom exacerbation, mirror those of the Australian study, [2] and align with key barriers identified by Australian healthcare professionals [3]. It is promising to see concordance of findings across regions, as interventions that target known barriers and facilitators to safe and effective deprescribing may therefore be transferrable and adaptable. …