학술논문

Impact of a nurse-based intervention on medication outcomes in vulnerable older adults
Document Type
article
Source
BMC Geriatrics. 18(1)
Subject
Health Services and Systems
Biomedical and Clinical Sciences
Health Sciences
Clinical Research
Clinical Trials and Supportive Activities
Management of diseases and conditions
6.1 Pharmaceuticals
Evaluation of treatments and therapeutic interventions
7.1 Individual care needs
Good Health and Well Being
Aged
Chronic Disease
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Multimorbidity
Nurses
Nursing Homes
Polypharmacy
Primary Health Care
Vulnerable Populations
Medication management
Primary care
Israel
Quality of care
Clinical Sciences
Human Movement and Sports Sciences
Geriatrics
Clinical sciences
Health services and systems
Public health
Language
Abstract
BackgroundMedication-related problems are common in older adults with multiple chronic conditions. We evaluated the impact of a nurse-based primary care intervention, based on the Guided Care model of care, on patient-centered aspects of medication use.MethodsControlled clinical trial of the Comprehensive Care for Multimorbid Adults Project (CC-MAP), conducted among 1218 participants in 7 intervention clinics and 6 control (usual care) clinics. Inclusion criteria included age 45-94, presence of ≥3 chronic conditions, and Adjusted Clinical Groups (ACG) score > 0.19. The co-primary outcomes were number of changes to the medication regimen between baseline and 9 month followup, and number of changes to symptom-focused medications, markers of attentiveness to medication-related issues.ResultsMean age in the intervention group was 72 years, 59% were women, and participants used a mean of 6.6 medications at baseline. The control group was slightly older (73 years) and used more medications (mean 7.1). Between baseline and 9 months, intervention subjects had more changes to their medication regimen than control subjects (mean 4.04 vs. 3.62 medication changes; adjusted difference 0.55, p = 0.001). Similarly, intervention subjects had more changes to their symptomatic medications (mean 1.38 vs. 1.26 changes, adjusted difference 0.20, p = 0.003). The total number of medications in use remained stable between baseline and follow-up in both groups (p > 0.18).ConclusionThis nurse-based, primary care intervention resulted in substantially more changes to patients' medication regimens than usual care, without increasing the total number of medications used. This enhanced rate of change likely reflects greater attentiveness to the medication-related needs of patients.Trial registrationThis trial is registered at https://clinicaltrials.gov , trial number NCT01811173 .