6ER-018 Attitudes towards deprescribing among older patients with rheumatic diseases

<h3>Background and Importance</h3> There is a high prevalence of polypharmacy among the elderly population, which increases the likelihood of having potentially inappropriate medication. Deprescribing has been introduced as an approach to improve appropriate medication use. Patient’s involvement is important for the success of deprescribing. <h3>Aim and Objectives</h3> To assess the attitudes, beliefs, and experiences of older patients with rheumatic diseases regarding the number of medications they are taking and their feelings towards deprescribing. <h3>Material and Methods</h3> Cross-sectional study conducted in a third-level hospital in June-2024. Patients ≥65 years with rheumatic diseases, who attended the hospital pharmacy department, were given the validated Spanish version of the Patients Attitudes Towards Deprescribing’ (rPATD) questionnaire¹. rPATD questionnaire has 22 items on a 5-point Likert scale: from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree). We excluded patients who didn’t sign the informed consent and those in clinical trial. <h3>Results</h3> Thirty-three patients were included, median age: 72 years (IQR:68.8–76.8), 68.8% women; median drug/patient: 9.5 (IQR:6–12). rPATD results are shown in table 1. Majority of participants (90.9%) stated that they were dissatisfied with their medications and 97% would be willing to deprescribe one or more medications if their doctor thought it appropriate. <h3>Conclusion and Relevance</h3> Patients with rheumatic diseases are not willing to have their medicines deprescribed. General satisfaction with their pharmacotherapy is high. Pharmacists should recognise such patients and lead them towards a shared decision making attitude. Therefore, it is imperative to carry out strategies to implement patient-centred care based on their attitudes and expectations. <h3>References and/or Acknowledgements</h3> doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050678 (https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/bmjopen/suppl/2022/04/21/bmjopen-2021-050678.DC1/bmjopen-2021-050678supp001_data_supplement.pdf) <h3>Conflict of Interest</h3> No conflict of interest