Study reveals major hurdle in fixing medication errors for older hospital patients
A new study finds that interventions to prevent dangerous medication mistakes during hospital discharge can be designed, but recruiting and keeping older patients engaged proves extremely difficult—with only 12 of 35 enrollees completing the program. The findings signal that widespread adoption of medication safety programs will require solving retention challenges before larger trials can succeed.
Originaltitel: Intervention for a correct medication list and medication use in older adults: a non-randomised feasibility study among inpatients and residents during care transitions
<p>BackgroundMedication discrepancies in care transitions and medication non-adherence are problematic. Few interventions consider the entire process, from the hospital to the patient's medication use at home.AimIn preparation for randomised controlled trials (RCTs), this study aimed (1) to investigate the feasibility of recruitment and retention of patients, and data collection to reduce medication discrepancies at discharge and improve medication adherence, and (2) to explore the outcomes of the interventions.MethodParticipants were recruited from a hospital and a residential area. Hospital patients participated in a pharmacist-led intervention to establish a correct medication list upon discharge and a follow-up interview two weeks post-discharge. All participants received a person-centred adherence intervention for three to six months. Discrepancies in the medication lists, the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ-S), and the Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS-5) were assessed.ResultsOf 87 asked to participate, 35 were included, and 12 completed the study. Identifying discrepancies, discussing discrepancies with physicians, and performing follow-up interviews were possible. Conducting the adherence intervention was also possible using individual health plans for medication use. Among the seven hospital patients, 24 discrepancies were found. Discharging physicians agreed that all discrepancies were errors, but only ten were corrected in the discharge information. Ten participants decreased their total BMQ-S concern scores, and seven increased their total MARS-5 scores.ConclusionBased on this study, conducting the two RCTs separately may increase the inclusion rate. Data collection was feasible. Both interventions were feasible in many aspects but need to be optimised in upcoming RCTs.</p>