Australia launches national deprescribing program to reduce harmful medication use
Consensus Summary
Australia has launched a national deprescribing initiative called SUPPORT-Meds, led by Monash University with $5 million federal funding, to train 7000 healthcare workers in safely reducing reliance on high-risk medications. The program targets unnecessary use of opioids and sleeping pills, particularly among older adults, after research showed long-term use of benzodiazepines and Z-drugs increases cognitive impairment, falls, and sedation risks. Janney Wale, an 80-year-old opioid-dependent patient now free from drugs, highlighted the insidious nature of dependence, while experts warned abrupt cessation can trigger severe withdrawal. The initiative aims to prevent 250,000 annual medication-related hospital admissions, with a focus on supervised tapering and alternative therapies like cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia.
✓ Verified by 2+ sources
Key details reported by multiple sources:
- Monash University launched the world-first SUPPORT-Meds program on 2026-07-01 to train 7000 healthcare workers (doctors, nurses, pharmacists) in deprescribing
- The program targets tapering off sleeping pills (benzodiazepines, Z-drugs) and prolonged opioid use for non-cancer chronic pain, with a focus on Australians aged 65+ for sleeping pills
- Associate Professor Emily Reeve from Monash’s Centre for Medicine Use and Safety leads the program, warning long-term sleeping pill use in older adults increases cognitive impairment risk by 5x, daytime sedation by 4x, and falls/fractures by 2x
- Janney Wale, an 80-year-old Brunswick resident and retired biomedical researcher with a PhD in pharmacology, shared her experience of opioid dependence (codeine) leading to severe fatigue, cognitive decline, and critically low potassium levels
- The program is backed by a $5 million federal government fund and emphasizes supervised tapering to avoid withdrawal reactions (insomnia, anxiety) mistaken for original symptoms
- Almost 40% of Australians take unnecessary medications, with 80–90% of aged care residents taking 10–15 drugs; 250,000 medication-related hospital admissions occur yearly, two-thirds preventable
- Deprescribing is described as a structured, supervised process to stop medications no longer beneficial, with first-line treatment for insomnia being cognitive behavioural therapy
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- The article mentions a 2026 figure of 40% of Australians on unnecessary medications (no specific source cited for this statistic).
- Includes a reference to a 2026 demand for more non-pharmaceutical support for antidepressant users (context unclear).
- Explicitly states the program will expand to phase out antipsychotics and acid-reflux drugs.
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- Both sources are identical; no contradictions exist between theage and smh.
Source Articles
‘I was in a blur’: Crackdown launched to wean millions of Australians off high-risk drugs
Experts warn chronic reliance on some medications is leading to severe and dangerous side-effects.
‘I was in a blur’: Crackdown launched to wean millions of Australians off high-risk drugs
Experts warn chronic reliance on some medications is leading to severe and dangerous side effects.