What constitutes a high quality discharge summary?:A comparison between the views of secondary and primary care doctors

This study aimed to identify any differences in opinion between UK hospital junior doctors and community General Practitioners (GPs) with respect to the ideal content and characteristics of discharge summaries, and to explore junior doctors' training for and awareness of post-discharge requirements of GPs

A systematic review exploring characteristics of lifestyle modification interventions in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes for delivery in community pharmacy

Objectives: The aim of this systematic review was to examine the characteristics of effective lifestyle modification interventions designed for patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in order to determine elements that have the potential to be delivered in the community pharmacy setting. Key findings: Seven studies, comprising three each of the interventions diet and structured education and one of supported exercise, were identified. Interventions were conducted in hospital diabetes clinics and clinics situated in both urban and rural areas. Interventions were delivered face to face by highly skilled personnel including physicians, nurses and dietitians. Duration of interventions ranged from 3 months to 5 years. Summary: Structured education and dietary interventions in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes effectively controlled blood glucose levels without pharmacological intervention. Important characteristics included face to face, individualised and multicomponent interventions with a duration of at least 6 months. These characteristics demonstrate potential for delivery in a community pharmacy setting, given its current involvement in delivering face to face, individual services with diet and lifestyle components. Further research is required to provide evidence for ideal intervention duration and frequency as well as training requirements for pharmacists

Adherence to UK national guidance for discharge information: an audit in primary care

Aims: Poor communication of clinical information between healthcare settings is associated with patient harm. In 2008, the UK National Prescribing Centre (NPC) issued guidance regarding the minimum information to be communicated upon hospital discharge. This study evaluates the extent of adherence to this guidance and identifies predictors of adherence. Methods: This was an audit of discharge summaries received by medical practices in one UK primary care trust of patients hospitalized for 24 h or longer. Each discharge summary was scored against the applicable NPC criteria which were organized into: ‘patient, admission and discharge’, ‘medicine’ and ‘therapy change’ information. Results: Of 3444 discharge summaries audited, 2421 (70.3%) were from two teaching hospitals and 906 (26.3%) from three district hospitals. Unplanned admissions accounted for 2168 (63.0%) of the audit sample and 74.6% (2570) of discharge summaries were electronic. Mean (95% CI) adherence to the total NPC minimum dataset was 71.7% [70.2, 73.2]. Adherence to patient, admission and discharge information was 77.3% (95% CI 77.0, 77.7), 67.2% (95% CI 66.3, 68.2) for medicine information and 48.9% (95% CI 47.5, 50.3) for therapy change information. Allergy status, co-morbidities, medication history and rationale for therapy change were the most frequent omissions. Predictors of adherence included quality of the discharge template, electronic discharge summaries and smaller numbers of prescribed medicines. Conclusions: Despite clear guidance regarding the content of discharge information, omissions are frequent. Adherence to the NPC minimum dataset might be improved by using comprehensive electronic discharge templates and implementation of effective medicines reconciliation at both sides of the health interface

Validation and Feasibility of the Medication Acceptability Questionnaire to Investigate Tablet and Liquid Alendronic Acid with Older Hospital Patients

The effects of formulation characteristics on acceptability are poorly understood. This study evaluated the validity and feasibility of using the Medication Acceptability Questionnaire (MAQ) to investigate factors influencing acceptability of tablet compared with liquid alendronic acid. Written consent was obtained from eligible patients on Older People’s Medicine wards. MAQ face and content validity were evaluated through cognitive interviews while internal consistency and criterion validity were investigated by calculating Cronbach’s alpha and correlation of MAQ items with visual analogue scale (VAS) responses. MAQ data were obtained from 33 and 25 participants for tablet and liquid formulations respectively. Cognitive interviews indicated MAQ face and content validity. The domains of appearance, efficacy, and tolerability demonstrated adequate internal consistency and suitable refinements were identified for the domains of convenience and taste with Cronbach’s alpha <0.7. Significant positive correlations were identified between all MAQ domains and VAS. The liquid trended towards performing better for taste, appearance and tolerability and the tablet for convenience and efficacy. It is feasible to capture patient acceptability of a medication by questionnaire. Interpatient variation in acceptability for two formulations indicates that medication characteristics should be considered during prescribing and medication reviews to match patient preference with the appropriate formulation

Systematic review of the health and societal effects of medication organisation devices

Background: Suboptimal medication adherence is a significant threat to public health and resources. Devices that organise weekly doses by time and day are commonly used to reduce unintentional non-adherence. However, there is limited evidence to support their use. This systematic review was conducted to evaluate current evidence for their efficacy, safety and costs. Methods: A pre-defined search of electronic databases from inception to January 2013 augmented with hand-searching was conducted. No limits were placed on publication date. Studies that compared organisation devices used by patients administering their own medication with standard medication packaging regardless of study design were eligible for inclusion. Studies that solely explored dispensing aspects of organisation devices were included whether or not they compared this to standard care. Screening of articles for inclusion and data extraction were completed independently by two reviewers with disagreements resolved by discussion. Outcomes were categorised into impact on health, medication adherence, healthcare utilisation, dispensing errors, supply procedures and costs. Risk of bias was also assessed. Results: Seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria. Health outcomes were investigated in seven studies of which three reported a positive effect associated with organisation devices. Medication adherence was reported in eight studies of which three reported a positive effect. Three studies reported health care utilisation data but overall results are inconclusive. No optimal dispensing or supply procedures were identified. Economic assessment of the impact of organisation devices is lacking. All studies were subject to a high risk of bias. Conclusions: Evidence regarding the effects of medication organisation devices was limited, and the available evidence was susceptible to a high risk of bias. Organisation devices may help unintentional medication non-adherence and could improve health outcomes. There is a strong need for more studies that explore the impact of such devices on patients, and an equally pressing need for studies that explore the impacts on healthcare services. Registration: This systematic review is registered with PROSPERO (Registration number CRD42011001718). Keywords Compliance aid, medication organiser, multi-compartment device, adherence, cost, pill organiser

Quantifying and characterising multi-compartment compliance aid provision

Background:  Medication compliance aids (MCAs) to support adherence lack evidence for cost-effectiveness yet a 2001 survey in England estimated 100,000 patients receiving an MCA whilst living in their home. Objective(s):  To obtain a contemporary estimate of MCA provision by community pharmacies in England and describe factors influencing pharmacist decision-making regarding MCA initiation. Methods:  A stratified random sample of two community pharmacies per county (n=40) in England were surveyed by telephone and a more detailed postal survey sent to participants expressing an interest. Data were collected to determine magnitude of MCA provision and, professional and administrative factors influencing initiation were reported as percentage (95% confidence interval) respondents reporting a factor. Results:  An estimated 273,529 MCAs are filled by community pharmacies in England with a median (IQR) of 20(10, 50) MCAs per pharmacy per month provided for patients living in their home. Practitioners’ judgement of appropriateness for MCA initiation was reported by 51.3 ±11% as the primary factor influencing decision-making relative to 16.3 ±8% and 20 ±8.8% reporting patient’s and carer’s opinion respectively. Some form of assessment tool was reported by 13 ±7.3% respondents. Postal survey respondents (n=31) indicated that decision-making regarding MCA initiation was often or always affected by suitability of medication for dispensing in an MCA by 58% ±17% of respondents; 74.2% ±15.4% and 53.3% ±17.9% of respondents’ decision-making was never or rarely affected by the risk of adverse events and reduced patient autonomy arising from an MCA respectively. Conclusions:  Provision of MCAs by pharmacies in England has more than doubled in the past decade. Beyond considering the practicalities of whether an MCA is suitable for a patient, there is limited evidence of pharmacists considering patient choice or risk of adverse events arising from sudden increased adherence prior to initiation

Barriers and facilitators to pharmacists integrating into the ward-based multidisciplinary team: A systematic review and meta-synthesis

Background: Pharmacists who are integrated into the ward team are involved in initial decision making, therefore pre-empting pharmaceutical problems and optimising therapy from the outset. Identifying the barriers and facilitators (determinants) to successful pharmacist integration within a multidisciplinary ward team will facilitate design of strategies to support integration. Objective: The study aimed to identify the modifiable barriers and facilitators to pharmacist integration into the ward-based multidisciplinary team. Method: Searches were conducted in May 2018 across 5 databases: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsychINFO and ASSIA, combined with grey literature and manual searches. Qualitative and mixed-methods studies using a qualitative method of data collection and analysis were eligible if reporting at least 1 modifiable determinant. Framework synthesis using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) as the a priori coding framework was undertaken. Behaviour change techniques for addressing the identified determinants were selected. Results: Twenty studies were included indicating 9 facilitators and 5 barriers to pharmacist integration. These were grouped into 3 themes. Professional knowledge and skills of the pharmacist were a facilitator to integration; interpersonal skills and relationships when representing positive interactions with team members were a facilitator whilst hierarchy was a barrier; working patterns were a facilitator when pharmacists were co-located with team members whilst profession-specific goals and excessive workload were barriers. These mapped to the TDF domains ‘knowledge’, ‘social/professional role and identity’, ‘skills’, ‘reinforcement’, ‘social influence’, ‘goals’, and ‘environmental context and resources’ respectively. Conclusion: The identified determinants within TDF domains and their associated behaviour change techniques now enable researchers to design theory- and evidence-based interventions to facilitate pharmacist integration into the ward-based multidisciplinary team. Pharmacist integration is facilitated by their knowledge and skills being valued and through demonstrating effective interpersonal skills. Re-structuring pharmacist responsibilities and working patterns to align with those of multidisciplinary team members also promotes integratio

Attitudinal predictors of older peoples' and caregivers' desire to deprescribe in hospital

Background Deprescribing is a partnership between practitioners, patients and caregivers. External characteristics including age, comorbidities and polypharmacy are poor predictors of attitude towards deprescribing. This hospital-based study aimed to describe the desire of patients and caregivers to be involved in medicine decision-making, and identify attitudinal predictors of desire to try stopping a medicine. Methods Patients and caregivers recruited from seven Older People’s Medicine wards across two UK hospitals completed the revised Patients’Attitudes Towards Deprescribing (rPATD) questionnaire. Patients prescribed polypharmacy and caregivers involved in medication decision-making of such patients were eligible. A target of 150 patients and caregivers provided a 95% confidence interval of ±11.0% or smaller around rPATD item agreement. Descriptive statistics characterised participants and rPATD responses. Responses to items regarding desire to be involved in medication decision-making and desire to try stopping a medicine were used to address the aims. Binary logistic regression provided the adjusted odds ratios (OR) for predictors of desire to try stopping a medicine. Results Patient participants (N=75) were a median (IQ) 87.0 (83.0, 90.0) years old and the median (IQ) number of pre-admission medication was 8.0 (6.0, 10.0). Caregiver participants (N=76) were a median (IQ) 70.0 (57.0, 83.0) years old and the majority were a spouse (63.2%). For patients and caregivers respectively, the following were reported: 58.7% and 65.8% wanted to be involved in medication decision-making; 29.3% and 43.5% reported a desire to try stopping a medicine. Attitudinal predictors of low desire to try stopping a medicine for patients and caregivers are a perception that there are no unnecessary prescribed medicines [OR=0.179 (patients) and 0.044 (caregivers)] and no desire for dose reduction [OR=0.199 (patients) and 0.024 (caregivers)]. A perception of not being prescribed too many medicines also predicted low patient desire to try stopping a medicine [OR=0.195]. Conclusion A substantial proportion of patients and caregivers did not want to be involved medication decision-making, however this should not result in practitioners dismissing deprescribing opportunities. The three diagnostic indicators for establishing desire to try stopping a medicine are perceived necessity of the medicine, appropriateness of the number prescribed medications and a desire for dose reduction

A theory-informed systematic review of barriers and enablers to implementing multi-drug pharmacogenomic testing

PGx testing requires a complex set of activities undertaken by practitioners and patients, resulting in varying implementation success. This systematic review aimed (PROSPERO: CRD42019150940) to identify barriers and enablers to practitioners and patients implementing pharmacogenomic testing. We followed PRISMA guidelines to conduct and report this review. Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and PubMed Central were systematically searched from inception to June 2022. The theoretical domain framework (TDF) guided the organisation and reporting of barriers or enablers relating to pharmacogenomic testing activities. From the twenty-five eligible reports, eleven activities were described relating to four implementation stages: ordering, facilitating, interpreting, and applying pharmacogenomic testing. Four themes were identified across the implementation stages: IT infrastructure, effort, rewards, and unknown territory. Barriers were most consistently mapped to TDF domains: memory, attention and decision-making processes, environmental context and resources, and belief about consequences