Characterising pharmacists' interventions in chronic non-cancer pain care: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND Chronic non-cancer pain may affect up to 51% of the general population. Pharmacist interventions have shown promise in enhancing patient safety and outcomes. However, our understanding of the scope of pharmacists' interventions remains incomplete. AIM Our goal was to characterise pharmacists' interventions for the management of chronic non-cancer pain. METHOD Medline, Embase, PsycINFO via Ovid, CINAHL via EBSCO databases and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched. Abstracts and full texts were independently screened by two reviewers. Data were extracted by one reviewer, and validated by the second. Outcomes of studies were charted using the dimensions of the Initiative on Methods, Measurement, and Pain Assessment in Clinical Trials (IMMPACT). RESULTS Forty-eight reports were included. Interventions ensuring appropriate drug prescription occurred in 37 (79%) studies. Patient education and healthcare professional education were reported in 28 (60%) and 5 (11%) studies, respectively. Therapy monitoring occurred in 17 (36%) studies. Interventions regularly involved interprofessional collaboration. A median of 75% of reported outcome domains improved due to pharmacist interventions, especially patient disposition (adherence), medication safety and satisfaction with therapy. CONCLUSION Pharmacists' interventions enhanced the management of chronic non-cancer pain. Underreported outcome domains and interventions, such as medication management, merit further investigation

Development of a quality assessment tool for pharmacy and therapeutics committees and subsequent pilot testing.

Pharmacy and therapeutics committees (PTCs) are multidisciplinary hospital teams responsible for rational medication use. We aimed at developing and piloting an assessment tool for their operating quality.We conducted a scoping literature review in PubMed and Embase to identify potential assessment items. Their relevance was systematically rated and consolidated into the final tool.60 relevant items were included, grouped into eight focus topics: the committee's institutional integration, member characteristics, performance indicators, meeting structure, formulary decision-making and characteristics, strategies to guide medication use and medication use evaluations.In combination with a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis, the tool helped the identification of improvement opportunities for a pilot hospital: adapting the committee's structure, improving the formulary decision-making, implementing strategies to guide formulary medication use and strengthening the committee's recognition within the institution.The tool successfully identified improvement opportunities for a PTC and could therefore be interesting for other hospitals

Exploring medication safety structures and processes in nursing homes: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND Medication safety is important to limit adverse events for nursing home residents. Several factors, such as interprofessional collaboration with pharmacists and medication reviews, have been shown in the literature to influence medication safety processes. AIM This study had three main objectives: (1) To assess how facility- and unit-level organization and infrastructure are related to medication use processes; (2) To determine the extent of medication safety-relevant processes; and (3) To explore pharmacies' and pharmacists' involvement in nursing homes' medication-related processes. METHOD Cross-sectional multicenter survey data (2018-2019) from a convenience sample of 118 Swiss nursing homes were used. Data were collected on facility and unit characteristics, pharmacy services, as well as medication safety-related structures and processes. Descriptive statistics were used. RESULTS Most of the participating nursing homes (93.2%) had electronic resident health record systems that supported medication safety in various ways (e.g., medication lists, interaction checks). Electronic data exchanges with outside partners such as pharmacies or physicians were available for fewer than half (10.2-46.3%, depending on the partner). Pharmacists collaborating with nursing homes were mainly involved in logistical support. Medication reviews were reportedly conducted regularly in two-thirds of facilities. CONCLUSION A high proportion of Swiss nursing homes have implemented diverse processes and structures that support medication use and safety for residents; however, their collaboration with pharmacists remains relatively limited

Development of a medication literacy assessment instrument (MELIA) for older people receiving home care.

AIM To develop a consensus-based instrument [MELIA] to assess the medication literacy of older home care patients to ultimately optimize medication safety. DESIGN This study was part of the project 'Study of Medication Safety in Home Care' (doMESTIC), which took place from 2016 to 2020 in Switzerland. The development process for the medication literacy assessment instrument encompassed six steps. METHOD First, a scoping literature search was conducted in the Pubmed, CINAHL, EMBASE and Cochrane Library databases as 2) a basis for the development of assessment items. This was followed by 3) a cognitive interview with home care patients and 4) the first round of a Delphi process. Then, 5) a focus group interview with home care experts was conducted before 6) the second Delphi round. The project took place between August 2020 and June 2021. With these different steps, perspectives of both patients and various home care and medication safety experts were included in the development of the assessment instrument. RESULTS A detailed instrument consisting of 20 items as well as a 7-item short version were developed. The short version is intended for efficient preliminary screening to identify patients at high risk for medication management-related problems. CONCLUSION Medication literacy in patients 65 years and older receiving professional home care is a key issue in preventing medication errors. A targeted assessment, starting with an efficient short version of MELIA, allows for prioritization of patients for interventions to optimize medication safety while ensuring their independence as much as possible. IMPACT Systematic assessment of patients' medication literacy helps to provide them with targeted and individual support in their medication management to avoid medication errors and increase patient safety. The development of MELIA is a first step in providing an assessment instrument specifically for the home care setting. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION Patient participation was an integral part of the instrument development. The initial 23 items were optimized based on cognitive interviews with four home care patients. The next steps of the instrument development were based on feedback of health care professionals-encompassing advance practice nurses, regular nurses, pharmacists and general practitioners-during a two-step Delphi process as well as a focus group discussion

Clarifying the muddy concept of home healthcare coordination: A comprehensive theoretical framework.

Effective healthcare coordination is vital when such care is provided as a collaborative effort by many individuals and their task activities are interdependent. Coordination is necessary to ensure that care not only meets the needs of patients, but also avoids negative consequences for them due to omitted, inefficient, unnecessary, or even incorrect treatments. It also helps conserve resources. This has contributed to a rapid increase in articles on this subject. Still, while care coordination topics are gaining the attention of researchers, there are a number of issues experienced, including the delineation of limitations, inconsistent definitions, and problems with measurement. Therefore, the aim of this article is to refine the concept of homecare coordination and provide a comprehensive theoretical framework, illustrated with examples from practice. Focusing on this goal, we have reviewed the extant literature on the subject to develop a theoretical homecare coordination framework. The first intermediary goal was to integrate relevant concepts across multiple theories and frameworks into a unified synthesis. We do so in two parts: (1) analysis of extant coordination frameworks and theories; and (2) the presentation of our newly developed theoretical framework for homecare coordination. The new framework differentiates clearly between coordination as a process—i.e., what people do to coordinate and coordination as an outcome—i.e., the state of coordination. Applying this distinction to both, measurement and interpretation of results helps avoid misleading conclusions. As a research outcome, our framework builds upon the extant coordination literature, considers the complex relationships among the various coordination-related factors and, while focusing on homecare, is applicable to various healthcare settings in general. A nuanced differentiation and explanation of the elements involved enable a more consistent operationalization of the coordination concept. Additionally, as they explicitly address the healthcare system's micro, meso, and macro levels, they can be applied across diverse healthcare settings to investigate homecare coordination

Prescribing pattern insights from a longitudinal study of older adult inpatients with polypharmacy and chronic non-cancer pain.

BACKGROUND The present study sought to determine the prevalence of chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) among older adult inpatients with polypharmacy. It also aimed to analyse prescription patterns and assess the therapy adequacy and patient complexity for those with and without CNCP. METHODS This 4-year longitudinal study examined data from an exhaustive acute care hospital register on home-dwelling older adult patients (≥65) with polypharmacy. Commonly known combinations of potentially inappropriate medications were used to estimate therapy adequacy. Patient complexity was evaluated by comparing number of comorbidities and investigating physical and cognitive deficits. RESULTS We determined a prevalence of CNCP of 9.7% among all older adult inpatients with polypharmacy, rising to 11.3% for those aged ≥85. Overall, CNCP patients were prescribed more drugs and had more comorbidities and physical and cognitive deficits than patients without CNCP. Older adult patients with CNCP received more analgesics, greater quantities of opioids, paracetamol and co-analgesics and elevated opioid dosages. Older adult patients with CNCP aged ≥85 received fewer analgesics, opioids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and co-analgesics but more paracetamol. Older adult patients with CNCP were prescribed more potentially inappropriate medications involving opioids. In particular, 24.5% received an opioid and a hypnotic (benzodiazepine or Z-drug), and 8.6% received an opioid and a gabapentinoid. CONCLUSION Observed differences in medication use between older adult inpatients with or without CNCP may be relevant for clinical practice. Potentially inadequate co-prescribing (such as hypnotics and opioids) affects a higher proportion of patients with CNCP and may have serious unintended consequences. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT This study describes differences in prescription patterns between people with and without chronic non-cancer pain in a large dataset of 20,422 discharges. The differences found may be relevant to clinical practice. In particular, high co-prescribing of opioids and hypnotics may have serious unintended consequences. Greater physical and cognitive deficits may indicate greater patient complexity, and appropriate interventions need to be developed to improve the management of this vulnerable patient group

Medikationsmanagement in der häuslichen Pflege – der Medikationsprozess aus der Perspektive von Klient:innen und ihren Angehörigen

BACKGROUND Professional home care nurses are often tasked with the medication management of older, polymedicated clients. The medication use process is often complex and prone to medication errors. From the perspective of professional caregivers, the interprofessional interfaces of care as well as the integration of clients and informal caregivers are a major challenge. AIM With this study, we explored the perspective of home care clients and their informal caregivers on the medication use process supported by professional caregivers with a focus on medication safety. METHOD We chose a qualitative research approach, using guideline-based interviews with eight clients and five caregivers. Data were analyzed applying the topical analysis according to Braun and Clarke. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Before engaging professional home care nurses in the medication use process, clients reached their physical, psychological and social limits. They were relieved when the professional home care organization took care of the overall coordination of the medication use process and felt safe. They trust professional caregivers and see limited need to be preoccupied with medication safety themselves, despite risks inherent in self-medication, adherence and transition of care. CONCLUSION Through the relief provided by professional caregivers, home care clients and their informal caregivers no longer perceive themselves as active partners in maintaining medication safety. Healthcare professionals should keep an eye on self-medication as well as adherence and support the use of the medication plan.Hintergrund: Eine häufige Aufgabe der professionellen häuslichen Pflege ist die Unterstützungbetagter, polypharmazierter Klient:innen beim Medikationsmanagment. Die medikamentöse Versorgung ist oft komplex and anfällig für Medikationsfehler. Aus der Perspektive von Fachpersonen sind insbesondere die zahlreichen interprofessionellen Schnittstellen im Medikationsprozess sowie die Integration von Klient:innen und Angehörigen große Herausforderungen. Ziel: Mit dieser Studie wurde exploriert, wie Klient:innen und deren Angehörige den Medikationsprozess mit Unterstützung der häuslichen Pflege im Hinblick auf die Medikationssicherheit erleben. Methode: Es wurde ein qualitativer Forschungsansatz gewählt und leitfadengestützte Interviews mit 8 Klient:innen und 5 Angehörigen durchgeführt. Die Daten wurden anhand der thematischen Analyse nach Braun und Clarke ausgewertet. Ergebnisse und Diskussion: Vor dem Einbezug der häuslichen Pflege stießen Klient:innen im Medikationsmanagement physisch, psychisch und sozial an ihre Grenzen. Sie erlebten mit der Übernahme des Medikationsprozesses durch die häusliche Pflege Entlastung und Sicherheit. Dabei bringen sie dem Fachpersonal großes Vertrauen entgegen und sehen wenig Bedarf, sich selber in Medikationssicherheitsbestrebungen einzubringen, obwohl Gefahrenquellen im Bereich Selbstmedikation, Adhärenz und Schnittstellen vorhanden sind. Schlussfolgerungen: Mit der Entlastung durch die professionelle Unterstützung sehen sich Klient:innen der häuslichen Pflege und deren Angehörige kaum mehr als aktive Partner:innen im Wahren der Medikationssicherheit. Es braucht ein Augenmerk der Fachpersonen auf die Bereiche Selbstmedikation und Adhärenz sowie eine Unterstützung bei der Nutzung des Medikamentenplans

An Intervention Program to Reduce Medication-Related Problems Among Polymedicated Home-Dwelling Older Adults (OptiMed): Protocol for a Pre-Post, Multisite, Pilot, and Feasibility Study.

BACKGROUND Effective medication management is one of the essential preconditions for enabling polymedicated home-dwelling older adults with multiple chronic conditions to remain at home and preserve their quality of life and autonomy. Lack of effective medication management predisposes older adults to medication-related problems (MRPs) and adverse health outcomes, which can lead to the degradation of a patient's acute clinical condition, physical and cognitive decline, exacerbation of chronic medical conditions, and avoidable health care costs. Nonetheless, it has been shown that MRPs can be prevented or reduced by using well-coordinated, patient-centered, interprofessional primary care interventions. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore the feasibility and acceptability of an evidence-based, multicomponent, interprofessional intervention program supported by informal caregivers to decrease MRPs among polymedicated home-dwelling older adults with multiple chronic conditions. METHODS This quasi-experimental, pre-post, multisite pilot, and feasibility study will use an open-label design, with participants knowing the study's objectives and relevant information, and it will take place in primary health care settings in Portugal and Switzerland. The research population will comprise 30 polymedicated, home-dwelling adults, aged ≥65 years at risk of MRPs and receiving community-based health care, along with their informal caregivers and health care professionals. RESULTS Before a projected full-scale study, this pilot and feasibility study will focus on recruiting and ensuring the active collaboration of its participants and on the feasibility of expanding this evidence-based, multicomponent, interprofessional intervention program throughout both study regions. This study will also be essential to projected follow-up research programs on informal caregivers' multiple roles, enhancing their coordination tasks and their own needs. Results are expected at the end of 2024. CONCLUSIONS Designing, establishing, and exploring the feasibility and acceptability of an intervention program to reduce the risks of MRPs among home-dwelling older adults is an underinvestigated issue. Doing so in collaboration with all the different actors involved in that population's medication management and recording the first effects of the intervention will make this pilot and feasibility study's findings very valuable as home care becomes an ever more common solution. TRIAL REGISTRATION Swiss National Clinical Trials Portal 000004654; https://tinyurl.com/mr3yz8t4

Care coordination in homecare and its relationship with quality of care: A national multicenter cross-sectional study

As health care complexity increases, skilled care coordination is becoming increasingly necessary. This is especially true in homecare settings, where services tend to be highly interprofessional. Poor coordination can result in services being provided twice, at the wrong time, unnecessarily or not at all. In addition to risking harm to the client, such confusion leads to unnecessary costs. From the patient's perspective, then, professional coordination should help both to remove barriers limiting quality of care and to minimize costs. To date, though, studies examining the relationship between care coordination and care quality have faced multiple challenges, leading to mixed results. And in homecare contexts, where the clients are highly vulnerable and diverse care interfaces make coordination especially challenging, such studies are rare.; Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the relationship, from the perspectives of clients and of homecare professionals, between coordination and quality of care. For both groups, we hypothesized that better coordination would correlate with higher ratings of quality of care. For the clients, we predicted that higher coordination ratings would lead to lower incidence of unplanned health care use, i.e., emergency department (ED) visits, unscheduled urgent medical visits and hospitalizations.; This study is part of a national multi-center cross-sectional study in the Swiss homecare setting. We recruited 88 homecare agencies and collected data between January and September 2021 through written questionnaires for agencies' managers, employees (n = 3223) and clients (n = 1509). To test our hypotheses, we conducted multilevel analyses.; Employee-perceived care coordination ratings correlated positively with employee-rated quality of care (OR = 2.78, p < .001); client-perceived care coordination problems correlated inversely with client-reported quality of care (β = -0.55, p < .001). Client-perceived coordination problems also correlated positively with hospitalizations (IRR = 1.20, p < .05) and unscheduled urgent medical visits (IRR = 1.18, p < .05), but not significantly with ED visits. No associations were discernible between employee-perceived coordination quality and either health care service use or client quality-of-care ratings.; While results indicate relationships between coordination and diverse aspects of care quality, various coordination gaps (e.g., poor information flow) also became apparent. The measurement of both care coordination and quality of care remains a challenge. Further research should focus on developing and validating a coordination questionnaire that measures care coordination

Pharmacists' clinical roles and activities in inpatient hospice and palliative care: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND Pharmacists contribute to medication safety by providing their services in various settings. However, standardized definitions of the role of pharmacists in hospice and palliative care (HPC) are lacking. AIM The purpose of this scoping review was to provide an overview of the evidence on the role of pharmacists and to map clinical activities in inpatient HPC. METHOD We performed a scoping review according to the PRISMA-ScR extension in CINAHL, Embase, and PubMed. We used the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists (ASHP) Guidelines on the Pharmacist's Role in Palliative and Hospice Care as a framework for standardized categorization of the identified roles and clinical activities. RESULTS After screening 635 records (published after January 1st, 2000), the scoping review yielded 23 publications reporting various pharmacy services in HPC. The articles addressed the five main categories in the following descending order: 'Medication order review and reconciliation', 'Medication counseling, education and training', 'Administrative Roles', 'Direct patient care', and 'Education and scholarship'. A total of 172 entries were mapped to the subcategories that were added to the main categories. CONCLUSION This scoping review identified a variety of pharmacists' roles and clinical activities. The gathered evidence will help to establish and define the role of pharmacists in inpatient hospice and palliative care