Category: Federal Forum Posters
Purpose: The elderly population is at an increased risk of medication non-adherence after discharge from the hospital. Self-administration medication programs (SAMPs) allow patients the opportunity to self-administer medications in a supervised setting and become independent in medication management prior to discharge. Currently, both national and local Veterans Affairs (VA) directives are available to guide implementation of a SAMP in our CLC, a skilled nursing care setting. The purpose of this quality improvement project (QI) is to create a step-by-step, multi-disciplinary plan in implementing a SAMP for veterans receiving care in our VA medical center’s CLC.
Methods: The IRB, University of Nevada –Reno determined the project as non-research QI activity. Prior to implementation of the SAMP, meetings will be held to educate pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, nurses, and CLC providers regarding roles, responsibilities, and documentation requirements. Veterans admitted to the CLC will be assessed for appropriateness of self-medication administration using the validated Patient Self-Administration of Medication in the Acute Care Setting (SAM) tool by their provider or designee. Based on eligibility criteria set forth by the SAMPs directive and the veteran’s score on the SAM tool, each veteran will be categorized by independence level. These include dependent, semi-independent and fully-independent.
Veterans assigned to an independence level will receive in-depth, individualized medication teaching about their medication regimen at the start of the program and weekly from a clinical pharmacist. Medications will be dispensed either in unit doses or in vials based on independence level on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Weekly evaluations will be conducted by clinical pharmacists to assess improvement in medication knowledge, comfort level, and medication adherence, which will determine the appropriateness to increase or maintain independence level. The goal of this program is to help veterans reach full independence prior to discharge.
Results: In progress
Conclusion: In progress
Lyndsay Albert
– PGY1 Pharmacy Resident, VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System, Reno, NV115 Views