by Eric Christianson | Jan 21, 2026 | Polypharmacy Cases And The Prescribing Cascade
One of the biggest contributors to polypharmacy isn’t the number of diagnoses a patient has—it’s our mindset around medications that fail to deliver benefit. Everyone knows we need to reduce meds in geriatrics, but how do we do that? Too often, when a drug doesn’t...
by Eric Christianson | Jan 18, 2026 | Endocrine Case Studies
Prescribing cascades don’t usually start with “bad” medications. In fact, they often begin with some of our most effective therapies. Metformin, SGLT2 inhibitors, and GLP-1 receptor agonists all have strong outcome data in type 2 diabetes. But when adverse effects are...
by Eric Christianson | Jan 7, 2026 | Polypharmacy Cases And The Prescribing Cascade
Mr. H is a 78-year-old male presenting to a primary care clinic for a routine medication review. In this scenario, we want to identify deprescribing targets. His past medical history includes hypertension, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF),...
by Eric Christianson | Nov 16, 2025 | Long Term Care Consultant Pharmacist Education and Information, Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine Case Studies
It’s not uncommon to see patients in long-term care facilities prescribed medications for anxiety, agitation, or insomnia. Two such medications that can raise red flags are Atarax (hydroxyzine) and Ativan (lorazepam). While both can be appropriate in select...
by Eric Christianson | Nov 9, 2025 | Neurology, Pain, and Musculoskeletal Case Studies
An 82-year-old woman with a history of mild Alzheimer’s dementia is started on donepezil 10 mg nightly to help with memory and cognitive function. After several weeks, her family reports that she’s been waking up multiple times per night to urinate and has complained...