Slide Presentation of the 2007 Annual Meeting of AHRQ

Evidence-based Interventions to Improve Medication Safety

• Theoretical framework:
  • Medication reconciliation
  • Patient-centered care
  • CBPR
• Community-based participatory research is a collaborative research approach that is designed to ensure and establish structures for participation by communities affected by the issue being studied, representatives of organizations, and researchers in all aspects of the research process to improve health and well-being through taking action, including social change. AHRQ, Evidence Report/Tech Assessment, 2004

Notes:

issues in the outpatient setting that cause problems in the medication management process include:
multiple prescribers (Marek 16,19; G-15);
ineffective communication between the patient and provider as well as among providers (physicians, nurses, pharmacists) (Commonwealth 2002, 2007; Calkins in Gurwitz 12);
lack of training and education on patient-centered medication reconciliation (IOM)


Over 60% of U.S. adults aged 65 or older in the ambulatory setting take at least 5 different mediations per week, with 15% taking at least 10