The effect of palliative care consults on deprescribing in palliative cancer patients.

92Background: The transition from active cancer treatment to palliative care often results in a shift in drug risk-benefit assessment which requires the deprescribing of various medications. In addition, a change in patients’ goals of care (GOC) necessitates the alteration of drug therapy which includes both deprescribing and the addition of medications intended to improve quality of life. Depending on a patient’s GOC, a medication can be considered as inappropriate. Methods: The study was a one year retrospective database review and included cancer patients seen by the PCC team at the University of Alberta Hospital. Primary Objective: Comparison between potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) prior to the palliative care consult (PCC) versus after the PCC. Secondary objective: Association between PIMs and GOC. The OncPal guidelines were used to identify and determine the number of PIMs prior to the PCC and after the PCC. Results: The reduction in PIMs prior to PCC versus after the PCC was 49% and wa...