Control Task Analysis of the Deprescription Process: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Deprescription is the process by which a physician supervises a patient’s withdrawal or dose reduction of a given medication due to side effects or diminishing efficacy. Prior studies on the process of deprescription have resulted in a number of models, two of which are used in this pilot study alongside the decision ladder to construct a novel analytic method. Initial findings indicate that this approach can offer unique insight into the deprescription process, particularly regarding the paths physicians take through the decision making process and when certain factors are most important. These early results are limited but lay the foundation for a rich variety of future work.