38 min
Best Practices: Medication Management Best Practices
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- Health & Fitness
High value healthcare is safe healthcare, and studies estimate upwards of 90% of patients seen in an outpatient setting have medication errors in their record. Dr. Amanda Mixon from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN, joined our Best Practices hosts to discuss the quality improvement efforts and patient safety intervention methods of medication management.
It is important for practices to understand that every time an additional medication is prescribed, there is an inherent risk. Medication management should be patient-centered, and patient education plays a pivotal role. The patient should be educated on why he or she is taking the medication, on how the medication should be taken, and on when the practice should be notified if problems arise.
The three main steps of medication management in an inpatient setting can be translated to an ambulatory setting. The first critical step in the beginning of the process is obtaining a medication history for the patient. The next step is one of reconciliation: practices should take the medication history and compare it to what the provider wants to change. Finally, the provider needs to both document changes to the medication list in the medical record and communicate any changes to the family and caregiver.
The best data collected thus far in estimating the magnitude of medication errors and the downstream repercussions still underestimate the problem because it is underreported. Studies show that roughly two-thirds of patients being discharged from inpatient care to outpatient care are at risk for having medication errors.
Time and staffing present the biggest challenges in this transformation effort, but Health Information Exchanges, investing in an on-site pharmacist to monitor and intervene, and a concerted de-prescribing effort can play a critical role in medication management.
Podcast Episode Resources
To learn more about the resources referenced in this episode, please see the following links:
CMS: https://www.cms.gov/
TCPI: https://tinyurl.com/tcpi19
MidSouthPTN: https://midsouthptn.com/
CDC Medication Management: https://www.cdc.gov/medicationsafety/
3 Step Screening: https://tinyurl.com/3stepscreening19
Quality by Design: https://tinyurl.com/qualitybydesign19
High value healthcare is safe healthcare, and studies estimate upwards of 90% of patients seen in an outpatient setting have medication errors in their record. Dr. Amanda Mixon from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN, joined our Best Practices hosts to discuss the quality improvement efforts and patient safety intervention methods of medication management.
It is important for practices to understand that every time an additional medication is prescribed, there is an inherent risk. Medication management should be patient-centered, and patient education plays a pivotal role. The patient should be educated on why he or she is taking the medication, on how the medication should be taken, and on when the practice should be notified if problems arise.
The three main steps of medication management in an inpatient setting can be translated to an ambulatory setting. The first critical step in the beginning of the process is obtaining a medication history for the patient. The next step is one of reconciliation: practices should take the medication history and compare it to what the provider wants to change. Finally, the provider needs to both document changes to the medication list in the medical record and communicate any changes to the family and caregiver.
The best data collected thus far in estimating the magnitude of medication errors and the downstream repercussions still underestimate the problem because it is underreported. Studies show that roughly two-thirds of patients being discharged from inpatient care to outpatient care are at risk for having medication errors.
Time and staffing present the biggest challenges in this transformation effort, but Health Information Exchanges, investing in an on-site pharmacist to monitor and intervene, and a concerted de-prescribing effort can play a critical role in medication management.
Podcast Episode Resources
To learn more about the resources referenced in this episode, please see the following links:
CMS: https://www.cms.gov/
TCPI: https://tinyurl.com/tcpi19
MidSouthPTN: https://midsouthptn.com/
CDC Medication Management: https://www.cdc.gov/medicationsafety/
3 Step Screening: https://tinyurl.com/3stepscreening19
Quality by Design: https://tinyurl.com/qualitybydesign19
38 min