Next week, Research Committee member Shanna Trenaman will present at #ISPEAnnual2026 in Milan to explore methodological issues in clinical trials & observational studies on deprescribing across health care settings. 📅 Aug. 31 | 5:15 p.m. CEST We’re excited to see deprescribing on a global stage!

🩺 What if students could practise high-value prescribing before clerkship? Last year, students brought resource stewardship & deprescribing to life through realistic mock OSCEs with residents & junior medical students. 📣 Our 2026–27 Student Funding Program opens next week. What will you create? 💡

The International Deprescribing Journal Club is back Oct. 1, 9–10 a.m. EDT! Join Shin Liau, PhD, from Monash University to explore int'l work on integrating & strengthening deprescribing recommendations in clinical practice guidelines. Hosted by deprescribeau.bsky.social 🇦🇺 tinyurl.com/m25yr3fw

🗞️ Hot off the press! Check out our Aug newsletter for updates on: • the '26–'27 Student Funding Program, • our Meds & Heat resource, • the next Int’l Deprescribing Journal Club, • prescribing practices in acute care, • a new research protocol on PIMs in adults <65. 🔗 tinyurl.com/s2yfxmba

🤝 Learning together. Last year, a student-led lunch-&-learn brought medical & pharmacy students together for interactive case discussions on medication-related problems & safe deprescribing strategies. 📣 Our 2026–27 Student Funding Program opens later this month. What could you create? 💡

💊 “I took them like candy for 35 years.” At 81, Georges Marcoux, past Public Awareness Committee member, shares his journey away from decades of sleeping-pill use: cognitive behavioural therapy, new sleep habits, & supported deprescribing. Read his story here: tinyurl.com/mru32scy (French only)

🎲 A board game about prescribing cascades? Last year, students turned that idea into Cascada!—an interactive learning activity that helped healthcare students explore medication safety through play. 📣 Our 2026–2027 Student Funding Program opens later this month. What could you create?

🧩 Medication reviews may need to look beyond the medication list. A new longitudinal study found lonely older women were more likely to initiate potentially inappropriate pain & psychotropic meds, highlighting the importance of addressing social needs in med. optimization. 🔗 tinyurl.com/3xx994te

💡 Got an idea to promote medication appropriateness and deprescribing? Last year, healthcare students across Canada turned their ideas into workshops, simulations, documentaries, and more. 📣 Applications for our 2026–2027 Student Funding Program open in late August. What will you create? 🚀

Some medications can make it harder to cope with extreme heat. 🌡 We're pleased to see Heal Canada adapt our evidence-informed article on medications & heat waves for the June issue of E3 Advocacy, helping this important information reach even more Canadians (pp. 108–112). 📚 tinyurl.com/4cbun8jf

Clinicians have tools to identify potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) in older adults—but what about adults under 65? A new protocol led by our researchers outlines an international modified Delphi study to build expert consensus on PIMs for adults aged 18–65 years. 🔗 tinyurl.com/kpyyverh

😴 A new CMAJ study found 13.2% of older adults filled a sedative prescription within 7 days of discharge; ~1 in 3 were new users. New use was linked to higher risks of falls, ED visits, readmissions & 30-day mortality; prior use was also linked to higher 30-day mortality. 🔗 tinyurl.com/3zjurw9t

Every prescription is a clinical decision & an environmental one. 🌱 A CFP review highlights the ECO-Rx framework, with strategies to reduce the envir. impacts of medications through evidence-based prescribing, med reviews, non-pharmacological therapies and deprescribing. 🔗 tinyurl.com/yswtdnxd

🌡️ Certain medications can increase the risk of dehydration and heat-related illness during heat waves. Family physician Dr. Frédéric Picotte spoke on 98.5FM to share key info from our Meds & Heat article as well as practical considerations for patients during hot weather. 🎧 tinyurl.com/59cxhh24

Pour les cardiaques et les diabétiques | Attention à l'hydratation durant les canicules

Écoutez à ce sujet le Dr Frédéric Picotte, médecin de famille, en compagnie de l'animatrice Catherine Brisson.

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✍🏼 The first benzodiazepine prescription may shape what happens next. An Ontario study of >1.8 million adults found that initial prescriptions >7 days, long-acting benzodiazepines, & multiple benzodiazepines initiated were associated with a lower likelihood of discontinuation. 🔗 tinyurl.com/2h7np7b2

💊 This #IRUMDay2026, the International Society to Improve the Use of Medicines reminds us to "Prescribe with Purpose • Use with Care • [and make] Smart Choices for a Healthy Future." Regular medication reviews and deprescribing are key to better care! 🔗 Learn more: isium.org/events/irum-day-2026/

Build practical deprescribing skills this summer with "Making It Happen: Deprescribing Education Program": A free, self-paced online course for primary care clinicians and trainees, developed by @dalhousie.bsky.social's Optimizing Therapy Through Collaboration (OPTx) team. 🔗 tinyurl.com/c2er9zxh

📣 Call for experts: the WHO is seeking medication safety and deprescribing experts to help develop a new guideline on the prevention, diagnosis, and management of delirium in older adults. Applications are open until July 26, 2026. Learn more below: www.who.int/news-room/ar...

New report from Canada’s Drug Agency: PIM use in older adults with major neurocognitive disorder (2013-2023) Overall PIM use declined; following an MNCD diagnosis, benzodiazepine & anticholingeric use drop but antipsychotic use increased & is sustained. Full report here: tinyurl.com/486hat2d

👏 Un article inspirant sur le programme de réduction des antipsychotiques chez les aînés d'un CHSLD. À travers le parcours de Gisèle, on découvre les bienfaits de la déprescription et d’une approche centrée sur la personne : tinyurl.com/yr3n3v7m

Moins de médicaments pour une meilleure qualité de vie

Le CHSLD Saint-Joseph a mis en place un programme pour réduire l’usage inapproprié d’antipsychotiques chez ses résidents qui présentent des troubles cognitifs.

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📸 Pharmacist & researcher Marie-Laure Baroud presenting on med. safety to members of the Centre Polyvalent des Ainés et Ainées in Rimouski-Neigette! She covered the risks of medication overload, deprescribing & the role patients/caregivers play in this process. Thanks for sharing your expertise!

A new @aamc.org article on polypharmacy & deprescribing featuring our Director @dremilymcd.bsky.social & USDeN co-lead @mikesteinman.bsky.social! It highlights Canada’s leadership in this field & our deprescribing curricular framework as a key resource for physician education: tinyurl.com/39cjmwez

👏 Last week, Robin Guyer and Dr. Emily McDonald presented the work of our Indigenization Working Group at the RI-MUHC’s Beyond the Paper Knowledge Mobilization Grant event. As recipients of the grant, they spoke about CADeN's co-creation of medication safety tools aligned with Indigenous priorities.

💰 A new syst. review & meta-analysis finds that community-based deprescribing interventions reduce potentially inappropriate medication use and generate healthcare cost savings. However, considerable heterogeneity was observed across studies. 👉 link.springer.com/article/10.1...

New deprescribing resources to reduce fall risk, developed in collab. with the CDC, NCOA, and University of Washington researchers! Inspired by our EMPOWER brochures, these tools support clinician-patient conversations and safer use of meds that increase fall risk: preview.ncoa.org/article/depr...

Some common meds make us more sensitive to heat, and can put us at risk of heat stroke and other heat-related illness 🥵☀️ Learn which meds make our bodies more sensitive to heat & how to stay cool on hot summer days: www.deprescribingnetwork.ca/blog/medicat... Share to keep your network informed!

Maude Plourde, pharmacist at the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, presented on medications & cognition to staff at Quebec City Geriatric Expertise Centre, covering the impact of anticholinergic meds on cognition & tools to help communicate this to older adults. Thank you Maude for your work! 🧠💊

A recent Hospital News article highlights findings from a study by the Canadian Medical Protective Association and Network members reinforcing that patient-centred communication, follow-up, & shared decision-making are essential for safe and successful deprescribing. 🔗 tinyurl.com/6km5cexf

Deprescribing medications in older adults: What the data reveals about safer care

Uncover the challenges of deprescribing medications in older adults and the need for clear communication and multidisciplinary care.

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Shoutout to member Émilie Bortolussi-Courval & her med student team at @usherbrooke.bsky.social for leading an interprofessional workshop for medicine, pharmacy, nursing and physios on deprescribing - preparing future health professionals to tackle polypharmacy together! 🙌

Congrats to Network Director @dremilymcd.bsky.social ilymcd.bsky.social on receiving a 2026-2027 FRQ Senior Clinical Research Scholar award "Advancing appropriate medication use through clinical research and evidence"! Well deserved! 👏 www.mcgill.ca/deptmedicine... @fondsrechercheqc.bsky.social