Using artificial intelligence (AI) to track dispensing data from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), UniSA researchers identified the most successful cases of deprescription among 100,000 patients prescribed antidepressants over a 10-year period.

The study, “Predicting Antidepressant Deprescription with Machine Learning Using Administrative Data,” was presented at MedInfo 2025, an international conference on digital health and informatics. The findings are also published in Studies in Health Technology and Informatics.

With antidepressant use soaring worldwide—Australia, Iceland, Portugal, Canada and the UK top the consumption levels globally—the AI breakthrough could help general practitioners safely deprescribe medication that is no longer clinically recommended.