miércoles, 13 de julio de 2016

Improving the Effectiveness of Medication Review: Guidance from the Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit. - PubMed - NCBI

Improving the Effectiveness of Medication Review: Guidance from the Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit. - PubMed - NCBI

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Study: AHRQ Health Literacy Tool Helps Identify Patients’ Drug Therapy Problems

The use of an element from AHRQ’s Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit can help identify medication problems when patients go to the doctor, according to an AHRQ-funded study. The toolkit’s “Brown Bag Medication Review” was implemented in a rural private practice in Missouri and an urban teaching practice in California. Both practices made the changes recommended in the toolkit to encourage patients to bring all of their prescription and nonprescription medications to office visits. Pre- and post-implementation evaluation revealed a threefold increase in the percentage of patients who brought all their prescription medications to office visits. The percentage of reviews in which drug therapy problems were identified doubled, as did the percentage of medication regimens that were changed as a result of the doctor seeing everything the patient was taking. The authors concluded that the toolkit can provide an easy, low-cost way to identify drug therapy problems. “Improving the Effectiveness of Medication Review: Guidance from the Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit” was published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. Access the abstract.

 2016 Jan-Feb;29(1):18-23. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2016.01.150163.

Improving the Effectiveness of Medication ReviewGuidance from the Health Literacy Universal PrecautionsToolkit.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Although routine medication reviews in primary care practice are recommended to identify drug therapy problems, it is often difficult to get patients to bring all their medications to office visits. The objective of this study was to determine whether the medication reviewtool in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit can help to improve medication reviews in primary care practices.

METHODS:

The toolkit's "Brown Bag Medication Review" was implemented in a rural private practice in Missouri and an urban teaching practice in California. Practices recorded outcomes of medication reviews with 45 patients before toolkit implementation and then changed their medicationreview processes based on guidance in the toolkit. Six months later we conducted interviews with practice staff to identify changes made as a result of implementing the tool, and practices recorded outcomes of medication reviews with 41 additional patients. Data analyses compared differences in whether all medications were brought to visits, the number of medications reviewed, drug therapy problems identified, and changes in medication regimens before and after implementation.

RESULTS:

Interviews revealed that practices made the changes recommended in the toolkit to encourage patients to bring medications to office visits. Evaluation before and after implementation revealed a 3-fold increase in the percentage of patients who brought all their prescription medications and a 6-fold increase in the number of prescription medications brought to office visits. The percentage of reviews in which drug therapy problems were identified doubled, as did the percentage of medication regimens revised.

CONCLUSIONS:

Use of the Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit can help to identify drug therapy problems.
© Copyright 2016 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

KEYWORDS:

Education of Patients; Health Literacy; Medical Errors; Polypharmacy

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