Medication Management Education in Primary Care

Abstract

Purpose: This quality improvement project aimed to educate primary care physicians on the“brown bag” medication review and determine their perceived usability of the brown bag medication review. Background: As chronic disease rates increase, so does the need for complex medication regimens for managing these diseases. The use of multiple medications increases the risks for patient falls, adverse drug events, and hospitalization, especially in the older adult population. Careful monitoring of these complex medication regimens can reduce adverse drug events, which up to 59% can be caused by patient and caregiver medication administration errors. Comprehensive medication reviews can assist in identifying medication-related problems and promote patient involvement in their care. Medication review usefulness can be affected by the tool used to conduct the review. Providers need to determine the most effective tool. Methods: Participants were all primary care providers at the Copper Queen Community Hospital Douglas Primary Care Clinic. Providers were given a pretest on their current mediation review practices then attended a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation on polypharmacy, the “brown bag” medication review, and how to conduct the review. All providers completed five days of conducting medication reviews with their older adult patients and completed a posttest on the final day of implementation. Results: The posttest showed all providers found problems in at least 25% of patient medication regimens requiring a change in patient medications. The posttest review also showed providers patient knowledge gaps in their medication regimens. Conclusion: Each provider felt the “brown bag” medication review was useful and are willing to include it in future practice.