Falls-Risk Medication Review Cheat Sheet

One in three over-65s falls every year and medicines are one of the few causes you can actually change. This one-page A4 tool walks you through a falls-focused medication review, from the first question to the taper plan.

What's inside

• 4-step screen: what to ask, lying/standing BP thresholds, ACB score, which bloods to check

• 10 drug classes that cause falls — benzos and Z-drugs, antidepressants, antipsychotics, opioids and gabapentinoids, antihypertensives, alpha-blockers, anticholinergics, sulfonylureas, antiepileptics and the often-missed ones (timolol drops, donepezil, prochlorperazine)

• For each class: the mechanism, the action to take, and a typical taper schedule or relaxed target

• Timing (why the first 2 weeks matter), deprescribing order, bone protection

• Referral triggers for a multifactorial falls assessment

• The shared-decision script to use with patients