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Care transition interventions have been successful in reducing medication-related problems and associated rehospitalization primarily by focusing on medication reconciliation conducted by trained healthcare professionals. Programs to improve the medication reconciliation process have largely been effective, but have limitations including the expense associated with recruiting, training, and retaining care transition healthcare professionals (e.g., nurses and nurse practitioners) the ability to provide services within a finite geographic area, and the retrospective nature of the reconciliation process which usually occurs in the home following hospital discharge. Our short-term objective is to use Pennsylvania Department of Aging resources to assess the feasibility of using a telemedicine medication delivery unit for frail older adults that require medication assistance in their home immediately following an acute hospitalization. As part of this feasibility assessment, the investigators will assess (1) recruitment process and procedures, (2) data collection procedures, (3) resource utilization, (4) drop-out rates, (5) acceptability and usability of the EMMA® telemedicine medication delivery unit, (6) medication adherence, and (7) medication-reconciliation errors during transition from hospital to home.
Care transition interventions have been successful in reducing medication-related problems and associated re-hospitalization primarily by focusing on medication reconciliation conducted by trained healthcare professionals. Medication reconciliation is the process of identifying discrepancies in drug regimens prescribed in different care settings or at different time points within the same setting, to inform prescribing decisions and prevent medication-related problems, including medication errors (MEs) and adverse drug events (ADEs). MEs and ADEs are particularly common during and following hospitalization, when multiple changes to a patients' medication regimens may be accompanied by inadequate patient education,\ follow-up, and continuity of care with primary care physicians and case managers. As a result of these problems, as many as 42% of general medical patients experience an ME or ADE after hospital discharge, with disproportionate impacts on older adults with chronic medical conditions. Post-hospital ADEs can be expensive, as12% result in an emergency department evaluation and 5% in readmission, which is associated with a significant increase in healthcare resource utilization and further fragmentation in care.
Programs to improve the medication reconciliation process have largely been effective, but have limitations including the expense associated with recruiting, training, and retaining care transition healthcare professionals (e.g., nurses and nurse practitioners), the ability to provide services within a finite geographic area, and the retrospective nature of the reconciliation process, which usually occurs in the home following hospital discharge. The investigators short-term objective is to use Pennsylvania Department of Aging resources to assess the feasibility of using a telemedicine medication delivery unit for frail older adults that require medication assistance in their home immediately following an acute hospitalization. As part of this feasibility assessment, the investigators will assess several methods and intervention-related components.
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| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computerized medication delivery unit | Experimental | Those hospitalized patients that meet all inclusion and exclusion criteria will be provided with a computerized medication delivery unit for use in their homes for the 30-day period following discharge. |
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| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computerized medication delivery unit (Electronic Medication Management Assistant (EMMA) | Device | The patient's prescriptions and refills are packaged in standard-sized blister cards and loaded into EMMA units. The EMMMA identifies each medication automatically - no patient input is required. When activated by the patient, the medications are selected from the blister cards and released into the delivery tray. The EMMA will remain in the patient's home for a period of 30-days immediately following hospitalization. After 30 days, the EMMA MDU will become available for the next eligible patient. This maximizes the number of patients that can benefit from the MDU, while addressing the transition period when medication-reconciliation problems are most common. |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| medication adherence | The investigators will assess adherence by determining the number of regularly scheduled medications taken vs. prescribed (data will come from the EMMA® Report software). | 30-day |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| medication-reconciliation errors during transition from hospital to home | Finally, the investigators will measure medication-reconciliation errors using the Medication Discrepancy Tool (MDT). | 30-day |
| acceptability and usability of the EMMA® telemedicine medication delivery unit |
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Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
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| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Steven M. Handler, MD, PhD, CMD | University of Pittsburgh -- of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education | Principal Investigator |
| Facility | Status | City | State | ZIP | Country | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UPMC Presbyterian Hospital | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | 15260 | United States |
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| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D055118 | Medication Adherence |
| D064420 | Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D010349 | Patient Compliance |
| D010342 | Patient Acceptance of Health Care |
| D000074822 | Treatment Adherence and Compliance |
| D015438 | Health Behavior |
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The investigators will assess acceptability and usability of the EMMA® telemedicine medication delivery unit through a previously validated instrument developed by the The Quality of Life Technology (QoLT) Center at Carnegie Mellon University. |
| 30-day |
| D001519 | Behavior |
| D064419 | Chemically-Induced Disorders |