New trial to improve medicine safety for those leaving hospital
Martina
Administrator admin
A new trial service to help patients better manage their medication after they leave hospital will be launched at Box Hill tomorrow.
Poor medication management during or immediately after a hospital stay is a risk factor in 28% of potentially avoidable hospital re-admissions within 30 days.
DC MedsRec is a community pharmacy-based service for patients discharged from Box Hill Hospital with four or more medicines, designed to help reduce the risk of harm from dangerous drug interactions.
Eligible patients will meet with a trained community pharmacist, who will look at their hospital discharge summary via My Health Record, along with a range of other medication information.
The pharmacist will then check the patient’s understanding of the drugs they are taking, resolve any potential medicine safety problems and ensure any medication-related recommendations from hospital are followed up.
The pharmacist also will also offer to dispose of any discontinued medications and prescriptions for the patient, with their consent.
The service is an Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) pilot project, managed by Eastern Health in partnership with Monash University.