Table 1.

Medication review interventions in the meta-analysed studies

Study	Intervention
Community
Blalock 2010	Medication review by community pharmacist with special attention to FRIDs. When a drug therapy problem was identified, the pharmacist discussed it with the patient. If patient was interested, pharmacist contacted their physician.
Blalock 2020	Community pharmacy staff screened patients for fall risk using STEADI algorithm. If patient was screened positive, patient was eligible to receive a pharmacist-conducted medication review. Recommendations were sent to patients’ healthcare providers following the review.
Meredith	Medication use improvement programme addressing for home healthcare patients: (i) unnecessary therapeutic duplication, (ii) cardiovascular medication problems, (iii) use of psychotropic drugs in patients with possible adverse psychomotor or adrenergic effects and (iv) use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in patients at high risk of peptic ulcer complications. Development of plan by pharmacist to address the identified problem and the plan presented for the physician. The nurse assisted the patient with medication changes and monitoring the effect.
Messerli	Polymedication Check, a community pharmacist-led medication review including a structured face-to-face counselling with the patient and screening all medicines currently used. Possible resulting interventions were for example consultation with the general practitioner (GP), referral of the patient, potential suggestion and implementation of a weekly dose reminder system, an individual patient education and a medication plan.
Mahlknecht	A review of patient’s medication regimens by three experts who gave specific recommendations for drug discontinuation. If at least two experts concorded regarding a specific recommendation, the respective recommendation and a brief explanation was forwarded to the respective GP. The GPs were invited to reflect on the recommendations in a shared decision-making process with the patient.
Hospital
Blum	A structured pharmacotherapy optimisation intervention jointly by a physician and a pharmacist at the individual level with the support of CDSS deploying the STOPP/START criteria.
Gallagher	Physician applied STOPP/START criteria. These were immediately discussed with the attending medical team and followed up with a written communication within 24 hours. Medication changes were included in the discharge summary to the patient’s general practitioner.
Wehling	A FORTA team instructed ward physicians on FORTA. The physicians convened with the FORTA-intervention team weekly, to discuss medication plans. Physician’s own judgement was leading over FORTA-based suggestions.
Michalek	The drugs were evaluated according to the FORTA list and changed as guided by FORTA within the 1st week in the hospital if possible.
Long-term care facilities
Zermansky	Clinical medication review by a pharmacist including a review of the GP clinical records and a consultation with the patient and carer. The pharmacist passed the formulated recommendations on a written proforma to the GP for acceptance and implementation.
Patterson	Specially trained pharmacists visited intervention homes monthly for 12 months and reviewed residents’ clinical and prescribing information, applied an algorithm that guided them in assessing the appropriateness of psychoactive medication and worked with GPs to improve the prescribing of these drugs.
Frankenthal	Screening medications with STOPP/START criteria by study pharmacist followed up with recommendations to the chief physician. Review at baseline, 6 and 12 months later.
Desborough	Multi-professional medication review meetings involving a clinical pharmacist and pharmacy technician, care home staff and GP(s) responsible for the medical care of residents. Review at baseline and 6 months. The outcome of the meeting was an agreed medicine-related action plan
Crotty 2004a	Receiving the services of the pharmacist transition coordinator for the patients transferring 1st time from hospital to long-term care facility including medication management transfer summaries from hospitals, timely coordinated medication reviews by accredited community pharmacists and case conferences with physicians and pharmacists.
Curtin	STOPPFrail-guided deprescribing plan for the patients discharged from acute hospital to nursing home devised by the research physician. The plan was communicated directly to one of the participant’s attending physicians and also documented in the patient’s medical record.
Potter	A medication review followed by the planned deprescribing of non-beneficial medicines. The aim was to reduce the total number of medications. GP and a geriatrician who was also a clinical pharmacologist of older people led the review. The plan was implemented over several months. Participants were reviewed weekly during deprescribing.
Cateau 2020a	The intervention consisted of a deprescribing-focused medication review, performed by the pharmacists, followed by the creation of a treatment-modification plan in collaboration with nurses and physicians. Once agreed upon by the professionals, the plan was submitted to the participating resident, or her/his representative, before implementation.