Helping Older Adults Improve Their Medication Experience (HOME) by Addressing Medication Regimen Complexity in Home Healthcare.
Orla C Sheehan, Hadi Kharrazi, Kimberly J Carl and 5 others
PMID 29298192WHAT IT FOUND
A home health medication tool was easy to use, and nurses reported better communication with physicians.
No medication changes or patient benefits were shown. Only 3 patients returned feedback, so family impact was unknown.
Key findings
01In a pilot with 19 patients and 20 home health encounters, the HOME tool was created for every encounter.
02Physicians and nurses rated the tool easy to use, and nurses reported improved communication with physicians.
03The impact on patients and families could not be assessed because only 3 patients and no family caregivers returned feedback.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The pilot was small: 19 patients and 20 encounters at one home health group, so it cannot show how the tool would work in many agencies or for many patients. Patient and family feedback was very limited: only 3 patients and no family caregivers returned forms, so their experience and the tool's effect on them could not be assessed. The study reported usability and feasibility, not changes in medication regimens, hospitalizations, or patient outcomes. Nurses were not sure the tool improved communication with families, and duplicate data entry, identifying the right physician and medication helper, and separate logins were workflow problems. Later refinements described in the Discussion, such as single sign on and EHR integration, were not tested in the pilot.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the high ratings from nurses and physicians as proof that the tool improves medication management or patient outcomes. The pilot did not report medication changes, and only 3 patients and no family caregivers returned feedback.