Patients’ adherence to therapy and understanding of medication improve significantly when they use the MedActionPlan for Organ Transplant (MAP-OT) patient education tool, according to two recent studies conducted at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC).

The studies are summarized in the Spring 2010 newsletter of the International Transplant Nurses Society (ITNS).

Read more here. 

Medication errors are a significant problem facing healthcare organizations, particularly in areas like transplantation which require complex regimens. With that in mind, transplant pharmacists at the University of California San Diego Medical Center have undertaken several initiatives to help improve compliance and reduce errors. 

View the following excerpts from the Winter issue of the UCSD Journal of Nursing to see how the UCSD team integrates MedActionPlan to help educate patients about their medication regimens.

UCSD_Nursing_Winter09.pdf (552.60 kb)

Free online program allows pharmacists and patients to create customized printable treatment plans.

This article originally appeared on the website of the Iowa Pharmacy Association. Used with permission.

Do you struggle to help your patients improve their medication adherence? According to the Center for Technology and Aging report, 23% of all nursing home admissions are a result of poor medication compliance. Whether it is one medication or 15, pharmacists, patients, and caregivers are challenged daily to ensure medications are taken correctly and on time. 

MyMedSchedule.com may offer a solution to the growing problem of poor adherence. This new, free online program is set up so that patients can create and print or email personalized dosing schedules that include the name, strength, and picture of the drug as well as specific dosing instructions for each medication. This tool is also a great way for pharmacists to assist patients with adherence issues by either creating the medication list for the patient or simply helping them use the service. The program includes patient-friendly education handouts in Spanish, English, large font, and wallet-sized cards as well as email and text message reminders that notify patients when to take a certain medication or simply when a drug is due for a refill.

If you are interested in a more extensive service, another free tool, MedActionPlan.com, allows providers to create profiles that include documentation of allergies as well as assistance in dosing schedules, anticoagulation titration schedules and Diabetes management in addition to the dosing handouts mentioned above. This is a universal service that can be utilized in any type of pharmacy setting, whether you practice inpatient, outpatient, retail, or in a variety of other types of pharmacy settings.

According to Donna Gemme Brooten, Director of Marketing and Client Relations of MedActionPlan, “Over 50% of the hospitals that use MedActionPlan use their pharmacist team as the lead for the program and for patient education. It is used as an education and adherence tool for in-patient and at discharge, and also in clinic and outpatient settings.”

Again, MyMedSchedule and MedActionPlan are both free and can be accessed from any computer as long as Internet is available and Javascript is turned on. They are HIPAA compliant, and the online tutorials are quick and easy to follow. The program is endorsed by several national organizations such as American Association of Heart Failure Nurses (AAHFN), The Organization for Transplant Professionals (NATCO), and the International Transplant Nurses Society (ITNS) as well.

Most importantly, however, is that through the use of printed daily schedules, specific dosing instructions, and reminders, pharmacists can help patients improve their medication compliance. This can increase medication efficacy and enhance the patient’s quality of life--all free of charge.

For more information on utilizing MyMedSchedule.com, visit the website http://www.MyMedSchedule.com to view the tutorials. If you are interested in using MedActionPlan.com, visit the website www.MedActionPlan.com. For either service, call 800-543-2230 with questions, or contact Donna Gemme Brooten.

References:

• www.MedActionPlan.com
• www.MyMedSchedule.com
• "Optimizing Medication Use in Older Adults." Center for Technology and Aging. (October 2009): 1-32. Print.

Donna Brooten of MedActionPlan.com and MyMedSchedule.com joined the Donate Life groups from around the country for the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena on New Year's Day. The float, New Life Rises, honors the new life that emerges when donors make the gift of life possible through organ, eye and tissue donations. Twenty-four riders are on the float representing transplant recipients and deceased donor families. Floragraphs, made of herbs, spices, and floral materials illustrate the loved ones who gave life to those in need. Donna says, "It was an inspiring event, very humbling and hopefully this float, seen on the parade route and on national television, made more people aware of how critical the need is for organ, tissue and eye donations."

To see KTLA’s Rose Parade broadcast featuring the Donate Life float, go to this page and click on Part 1, where Donate Life appears at the 13:15 mark. 

View photos of the float and parade on MyMedSchedule's Facebook page.

A new study published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine shows that a large number of hospital patients do not know which medications they are taking, according to an article at HealthDay.com. Dr. Ethan Cumbler, author of the study, explains why this can be a serious problem:

If the patient knows what medicines they're supposed to be getting and when, then they're sort of one extra layer of protection to make sure that things go well. If they don't know what medicines they're supposed to be getting or when, then they are dependent on hospital systems to work flawlessly, and the sad fact is that hospital systems in any hospital don't work flawlessly.

The HealthDay article includes some suggestions for patients from Kevin Colgan, corporate director of pharmacy at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago:

• Keep a list of medications you take so you can provide an accurate medication history when you check into the hospital.
• During your stay, ask: "What's that name of the drug you're giving me? What will it do? And what adverse drug reactions should I expect?"
• Before discharge, learn about any medications you'll be taking at home.

Read the whole article here.

“Our patients’ survival rate is 15 percent higher than the national average for patients three years post transplant, at an exceptional 96.8 percent. Our outcomes reflect care, planning and attention to detail along with a step-by step analysis of all of our processes, including education tools. MedActionPlan is part of our ‘continuum of care.’”

“We use MedActionPlan for every patient discharge, and we appreciate the program upgrades and the rapid response of your IT department.”

Pam Hester, RN
Manager, Heart Transplant
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center
Spokane, WA

MedActionPlan users have been really busy! We were just looking at some statistics and thought you might find these interesting:

• MedActionPlan is now used in over 500 healthcare facilities in the U.S.
• Over 400,000 regimens have been created and saved in MedActionPlan since 2005.
• Those regimens included over 4 million medications.

As impressive as those numbers are, we think the best news is that thousands of patients each year are finding it a little easier to understand and adhere to their medication regimens.

MedActionPlan for Medication Reconciliation is a new premium service that adds sophisticated new tools to MedActionPlan programs. With this innovative solution, a facility easily documents each patient’s medications, recording when each is started, stopped, or continued. It also notes the provider and the reason for every change. This application provides an efficient, comprehensive medication reconciliation solution for hospitals adhering to the Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals.

In addition to all the great features currently available in version 5.0, MedActionPlan for Medication Reconciliation includes special features to help create an efficient, flexible workflow for each facility. With new HL7 support, MedActionPlan can now interface with your existing EMR, admissions, labs, or other information systems, reducing double entry and saving time throughout your system.

For pricing and a free demonstration of MedActionPlan for Medication Reconciliation, please call us at 800-543-2230.

Hi—and welcome to our new blog! This will be the place to get the latest news and announcements, plus helpful tips for using MedActionPlan and MyMedSchedule. If you have any questions that you'd like to see answered here, click Contact Us and drop us an email. We look forward to providing interesting and useful information in the coming weeks.

Regards,

The MedActionPlan Team