The Effect of a Medication Coordinator on the Quality of Patients Medication Treatment (MEDCOOR)

University of Southern Denmark (SDU)

Status: Invitation-only

Conditions: Polypharmacy; Medication Therapy Management; Quality of Life; Potentially Inappropriate Medication; Medication Review

Treatments: Behavioral: Medication Coordinator

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06383364

SHS-Pharm - 1 - 2024

Details and patient eligibility

About

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.

Full description

Patients' safety can be compromised in the transition of care between healthcare sectors. Optimal information flow across healthcare sectors and individualized medication treatment tailored to each patient is key to prevent adverse events and optimize patient treatment. Particularly, the inclusion of the general practitioner is important in this process; it could become a challenge to keep medication changes if this communication link is missing. The framework for complex intervention allows flexibility and adaption in meeting patients' needs by implementing tailored, possibly complex interventions in different healthcare settings. To examine the effect of a Medication Coordinator, who facilitates medication reviews in close collaboration with patients using My Medication Plan. The primary outcome is the proportion of potentially inappropriate medications. Secondary outcomes include patient-reported outcomes i.e., quality of life and medication burden. Additional outcomes include the patient's individual Medication Risk Score, if the patients are readmitted, and if the patients have contacted the staff at the hospital unit after the hospital discharge.

Enrollment: 140 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• all hospitalized patients, who are prescribed at least five medications specified in the Electronic Patient Journal (EPJ) used at ward

Exclusion criteria

• unable to communicate in Danish, cognitively impaired e.g. suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's, or cannot cooperate due to e.g. hallucination or aggressive behavior

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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140 participants in 2 patient groups

Interventions group

Active Comparator group

Description:

The Medication Coordinator facilitates the medication reviews in close collaboration with the patients by applying concepts of motivational interview in combination with My Medication Plan

Treatment:

Behavioral: Medication Coordinator

Control group

No Intervention group

Description:

Usual treatment from a team consisting of hospital physicians, nurses, nurse assistants, and as needed occupational therapists, physiotherapist, and clinical dieticians. Medication reconciliation might be a part of the patients' usual care performed by physicians or pharmacologist present at the acute ward. Hospital physicians and/or nurses might perform patient counselling about medication treatment during hospitalization