Dr. Wade Thompson is a pharmacist working in long-term care. He has also practiced in interdisciplinary primary care clinics (Family Health Teams) and geriatric outpatient clinics.
In Wade’s clinical work, he routinely encounters older persons taking many medications, some of which are unnecessary or even causing harm. His clinical and research work aims to address this issue and ensure that older persons are only taking medications that are necessary, effective, safe, and consistent with their healthcare goals and treatment preferences. This often means stopping medications when they are no longer a good fit (termed “deprescribing”).
Wade’s research program focuses on developing and evaluating different strategies for deprescribing in clinical practice. This primarily involves knowledge synthesis and knowledge translation activities. He is an investigator with deprescribing.org, an initiative that aims to support healthcare providers and patients/caregivers in making decisions about when and how to stop medications when they might no longer be a good fit. Wade is also a member of the Therapeutics Initiative.