As we all know stopping is often more difficult than starting something and this is doubly true for medicines, often started years ago by one medical professional and difficult  for someone else to review years later. This problem is growing as people are increasingly treated for multiple conditions. Taking medicines can become a habit that is difficult to break. As we age our bodies become less able to handle some medicines, and medicines that were once effective and safe may not no longer have as much benefit and may have an increased chance of causing harm. In particular we know that half of older people are prescribed a medicine with a safety risk so it is important that all their medicines are properly reviewed in hospital and those where the benefits no longer outweigh the risks are reduced or stopped before they leave hospital.