UPCOMING [May 6]: Deprescribing Webinar Series #9

27 Jan 2026 UPCOMING [May 6]: Deprescribing Webinar Series #9

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When challenged by complex cases involving people taking too many medications, we may ask:

  • Can I stop any of these?
  • Which should I stop first?
  • Do I need to taper this drug? If so, how?
  • What should I monitor for after stopping, and when?

Many clinicians address these clinical questions successfully, improving outcomes for patients.  Sometimes, things don’t work out as hoped.  At the Therapeutics Initiative, we want to create a platform for healthcare providers, patients, caregivers, advocates and policy makers to learn from each other about successes and challenges in deprescribing through our popular Deprescribing Webinar Series initiated in February 2023. The series paused during 2025, but was restarted on January 28, 2026.  Learning together, we hope to build confidence and knowledge about deprescribing.

DATE: Wednesday, May 6, 2026

TIME: 12:00 – 13:00 Pacific Time [convert to your local time]

WHERE: This is a free virtual event. Anyone can attend but registration is required. After submitting your registration you will receive a confirmation email, which will include connection details.

REGISTRATION: https://ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/jYvpOqsOSHWoVsWVf7KUXA

CME CREDITS: MainPro+ Certified Activity credits: 1.0. Those who register, attend the webinar and complete the evaluation will receive their CME certificate.

Optimizing Medications for Patients with Major Polypharmacy and Multiple Morbidities: Evidence and How to Apply It

Presented by: Dr. Anne Holbrook MD, PharmD, MSc, FRCPC, Professor in the Department of Medicine and Director of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology at McMaster University

About the topic: Canada has more than 13,000 pharmaceutical products on the market, expanding yearly. More than one-quarter of Canadian seniors take more than 10 medications per day regularly. Approximately half fill a prescription for a ‘potentially inappropriate medication’ each year. A systematic review suggests that adverse drug events are amongst the top ten causes of death in the United States. Poor quality medication utilization wastes billions of healthcare dollars annually.  The question becomes – what can we do as prescribers to improve prescribing and medication utilization quality?

About the speaker: Dr. Anne Holbrook MD, PharmD, MSc, FRCPC is a Professor in the Department of Medicine and Director of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology at McMaster University, and Lead for the largest research pillar of the Research Institute of St Joe’s Hamilton. Her clinical practice spans 5 decades and combines Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology and Internal Medicine, specializing in the care of hospitalized adults with multiple major comorbidities and complex, high-risk medication regimens. She is a province-wide consultant to other health care providers on any patient-related concerns related to medications or toxins. Dr Holbrook is an international leader in promoting evidence-based therapeutics through research, education and public drug policy advisory work. Current research work includes CIHR-funded randomized trials of optimizing medications according to individual risk profiles, a large EMR network study of QT-prolonging medications and Major Adverse Cardiac Events, qualitative work on medication safety alerts, multiple systematic reviews and the use of artificial intelligence to augment Clinical Pharmacology education – all directed at optimizing medication effectiveness, safety and cost-effectiveness, and prescribing competence of trainees. She is one of the most experienced expert advisors of drug policy in Canada, influencing formulary access, medication safety and optimal drug utilization for hospitals and governments with budgets in excess of $12 billion.

Accreditation: The Division of Continuing Professional Development, University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine (UBC CPD) is fully accredited by the Continuing Medical Education Accreditation Committee (CACME) to provide CPD credits for physicians. This activity meets the certification criteria of the College of Family Physicians of Canada and has been certified by UBC CPD for up to 1.0 Mainpro+® Certified Activity credits. Each participant should claim only those credits accrued through participation in the activity.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  1. Why focus on medication regimen optimization, instead of de-prescribing or new prescribing?
  2. How to settle on individual patient health priorities that should influence medications?
  3. Key tips for priority de-prescribing, prescribing and reinforcement.

The TI Deprescribing Webinar Series are coordinated by:

Fiona Chan BSc(Pharm), PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia

Wade Thompson PharmD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia
Organizer, International Deprescribing Conference, and Chair, Evidence Synthesis Unit, UBC Therapeutics Initiative

A combined total of almost 4,000 participants signed up for at least one of the eight Deprescribing Webinar sessions held to date. Links to the previous sessions (including the slide decks and video recording for each session):

INVITATION TO SUBMIT & PRESENT A CASE AT FUTURE DEPRESCRIBING WEBINARS!

Please let colleagues or friends know about this new webinar series.

  • We host a 1-hour case-based webinar every 3-4 months on a Wednesday at 12:00-13:00 Pacific Time.
  • Deprescribing Webinars are open to pharmacists, doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses, health profession students, patients & care providers, and others in health care who are interested in how to address undesirable polypharmacy effectively through responsible deprescribing.
  • The Webinars are case-based.  We invite case submissions from any health profession (including students, and potentially from patients/caregivers who wish to share their experiences).  As in any health care setting, we expect our audience to respect the confidentiality of information presented with informed patient consent.

Who should submit?

  • Nursing, psych nursing, NP, medical, and pharmacy students or residents;
  • Recently qualified practitioners working in hospital, community, or long-term care who identify a deprescribing problem or success they think will interest others;
  • Senior clinicians in any health care field who want to share their acumen and experience with deprescribing clinical logic, pharmacokinetics, avoiding withdrawal, teaching others how to deprescribe successfully, use of electronic aides or AI;
  • Patients or families who think their story may enlighten health professionals.

What will you need to submit a case?

  • Patient consent to present anonymized relevant history, physical findings, drug list;
  • Consent of your supervisor if relevant (e.g. students/residents);
  • Obtain key details including all medications and doses, relevant vital signs (e.g.supine & standing BP and HR, RR and SaO2) while you have authorized access to patient record.

If interested, please contact us.  We will work with submitters to develop succinct, effective presentations that allow time for audience discussion.  If you wish to propose a case, don’t be shy! But DO respect patient privacy – don’t disclose any information that could identify an individual.

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