Date of Publication
2024
Project Team
Dr. Margaret Aitken, DNP, APRN; Dr. Christina Harlow, DNP, FNP-BC, ENP-C
Abstract
Medication management in the geriatric population is often complex due to polypharmacy, drug-drug interactions, and slower rates of drug metabolism as the body ages (ACEP, 2014). It can be difficult for emergency department (ED) staff to obtain an accurate medication list. It is imperative for ED providers to have an accurate medication list as the cause for the visit can often be medication related and new medications prescribed in the ED may interact with another home medication. This audit and feedback quality improvement project took place in a small, rural ED and was paired with the launch of a new EHR. The project gathered ED medication review data on patients age 65 and older over a two-month period, presented the baseline data, introduced a new protocol for medication review, and provided audit and feedback every 2 weeks over a 2-month period. The pre-intervention data showed an average of 3.7 medications missed per patient by the ED medication review. Following the intervention, this number dropped to 1.4 medications missed. After the first audit and feedback status update it dropped to 0.2 medications on average. The rate of medication review at bed side remained low around 42.7% throughout the post-intervention. Audit and feedback proved effective in this setting for raising medication review accuracy. This has implications for improving patient safety and reducing adverse drug events.
Document Type
Dissertation/Thesis
Recommended Citation
Schut, Dennis Gerard, "Improving Medication Review for Adult Patients 65+ in a Rural Emergency Department" (2024). College of Nursing and Health Sciences Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Project Publications. 155.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/cnhsdnp/155
Included in
Emergency Medicine Commons, Geriatric Nursing Commons, Geriatrics Commons, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Commons, Quality Improvement Commons