View clinical trials related to Polypharmacy.
Filter by:To examine the effect of a Medication Coordinator, who facilitates medication reviews in close collaboration with patients using My Medication Plan to reduce the risk of post-hospital inappropriate medication usage.
High-risk polypharmacy is common among older adults in the United States, is particularly dangerous for individuals with dementia or cognitive impairment, and is associated with harms such as adverse drug reactions, falls, and higher costs of care. This project aims to test in a pragmatic clinic-randomized controlled trial two electronic health record-based behavioral economic nudges to help clinicians reduce high-risk polypharmacy among their older adult patients and in the subgroup with dementia or cognitive impairment. The main questions this trial aims to answer are: Aim 1: To evaluate the effects of an EHR-based commitment nudge, a justification nudge, and the combination of both nudges on a composite measure of high-risk polypharmacy via a pragmatic randomized controlled trial. The investigators will use cluster randomization in which primary care clinics are randomized to receive 0, 1, or 2 nudges using a factorial design. The nudges will run for 18 months, followed by 12 months of observation to assess persistence of effects. Aim 2: To qualitatively and quantitatively assess clinician experiences with the EHR-based nudges, including their acceptability and effects on workflow. At the conclusion of the intervention period, the investigators will perform semi-structured interviews and field a clinician survey.
The researchers will investigate the effects of a communication training for community pharmacists and general physicians that aims to make it easier for them to stop or lower medication for cardiovascular disease and/or diabetes in older patients. The researchers expect that trained community pharmacists and general physicians will stop or lower medication for cardiovascular disease and/or diabetes in more patients compared to untrained community pharmacists and general physicians. The researchers will recruit local teams consisting of a community pharmacist and one or more general physician, and allocate each team to either group I or group II. All teams in group I are first being trained, before they conduct a study-specific clinical medication review in 10 patients per team. All teams in group II will first conduct a more general clinical medication review in 10 patients per team too, before receiving the training. Patients will only be included after meeting in- and exlcusion criteria and signing an informed consent form. During the conduct of the study, the researchers will collect patient reported data and data on the conduct of the medication reviews. Retrospectively, the researchers will also collect data on the medication use of the patients from the pharmacy information system and specific medical data related to cardiometabolic disease of the patients from the physician's information system. The researchers will also assess the total costs and benefits of the intervention, and evaluate the training for the purpose of future implementation.
The primary goal of this study is to conduct pharmacogenomics testing (a type of DNA test) within an aging population and measure the impact of this test on medication selection, dosing, healthcare utilization, and costs of care.
Tabula Rasa HealthCare (TRHC), doing business as CareKinesis, is the first national pharmacy that provides science-based medication risk identification and mitigation technologies and services. CareKinesis utilizes medication decision support tools and pharmacists certified in geriatrics to provide pharmacy services for various healthcare organizations including PACE organizations. Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) is a Medicare-Medicaid program that provides comprehensive medical and supportive services to individuals >55 years of age who are certified by their state as needing nursing home care. As an alternative to institutionalization, PACE helps these individuals live safely in their community. The aim of PACE is to improve overall quality of life in four domains (physical, psychological, social, and spiritual) using a multidisciplinary approach. In the United States, the vast majority of PACE organizations collaborate with one pharmacy to dispense drugs, in addition to other pharmacy services, for their population of participants. Presently, CareKinesis services approximately 140 PACE sites, across the country. As a national PACE pharmacy provider since 2011, CareKinesis focuses on improving medication regimens to reduce medication-related risks while enhancing economic, clinical and humanistic outcomes.
Medication overload is an epidemic causing widespread harm, particularly to older Canadians. While most prescriptions are intended to help people live longer and healthier lives, taking multiple medications can increase frailty, and lead to dangerous side effects.This is a mixed-methods study to determine the impact of MedReviewRx on prescribing in New Brunswick Nursing Homes (NBNHs). MedReviewRx is an application which allows MedSafer to analyze a person's medications and medical conditions and produce a report with suggestions for how to simplify medications and make them safer. MedSafer reports will be used to assist physicians and pharmacists identify potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) and conduct medication reviews in NBNHs. The prevalence of PIMs in NBNHs before MedReviewRx will be measured and the change in PIM use after implementation will be calculated. User experience with MedSafer reports and MedReviewRx will be explored. Patient and Family attitudes towards deprescribing will also be studied. Investigators hypothesize that implementing MedReviewRx in New Brunswick Nursing Homes (NBNHs) will promote deprescribing which will lead to a decrease in the number of PIMs and a decrease in medication costs for older adults living in NBNHs.
Elders living with multiple chronic conditions often take many drugs (polypharmacy); some of the drugs may not benefit them or may be harmful. The Canadian Institute for Health Information has reported that about one-quarter of Canadian seniors are prescribed ten or more different drugs each year. Polypharmacy can result in poorer health, reduced quality of life and high healthcare costs. Choosing Wisely Canada and the Canadian Deprescribing Network have suggested wiser uses for the following four Potentially Inappropriate Prescriptions (PIPs): drugs that reduce stomach acid; reduce anxiety and induce sleep; treat agitation; and treat type 2 diabetes but have a high risk of low blood sugar. To improve care for elderly patients living with polypharmacy, we propose SPIDER: a Structured Process Informed by Data, Evidence and Research. Using quality improvement (QI) and supported by Electronic Medical Record (EMR) data, SPIDER will invite family doctors, nurses, pharmacists and front desk staff to participate in Learning Collaboratives and learn from each other. The practice teams will work with a QI Coach to identify areas to improve, develop strategies and implement changes tailored to the local practice context. The objective of this study is to determine whether SPIDER will reduce PIPs for patients 65 years or older who are on ten or more different drugs. The study will also explore patient experience and provider satisfaction with SPIDER and assess the cost of running SPIDER. The study will first be tested for feasibility in Toronto, Edmonton and Montreal. Findings will then guide a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) in Calgary, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax where practices enrolled in the SPIDER intervention will be compared with those in usual care.