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A trial to improve collaboration between GPs and pharmacists to reduce medication-related problems in patients is under way in Queensland.
People at risk of serious medication-related problems, including patients with atrial fibrillation, heart failure or cardiovascular disease, are the focus of a trial being carried out in Queensland.
The trial, named ACTMed (ACTivating primary care for MEDicine safety), involves 42 Queensland primary care practices and will provide researchers with information about the effectiveness and cost of using technology to avoid medication-related problems.
“In Australia, an estimated 400 000 emergency presentations and 250 000 hospital admissions are related to potentially preventable medication-related problems each year, at a cost to the healthcare system of more than $1.4 billion,” the authors wrote.
Encouraging pharmacists and GPs to work together
The ACTMed trial encourages pharmacists to work more closely with general practitioners (GPs) in general practices and in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health organisations.
A practice pharmacist, either already working in the practice or recruited for the trial, will review a list of at-risk patients generated by an algorithm applied to the database of participating practices and determine whether action needs to be taken to mitigate potential medication-related problems.
The type of risks identified would include patients who have been diagnosed with one of the monitored diseases but who are not taking the indicated medications that could prevent a serious health event.
The trial will monitor patients with atrial fibrillation, heart failure, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
“ACTMed is a quality improvement activity based on innovative digital technologies and financial incentives for encouraging pharmacists to work with general practitioners in mainstream general practices and in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health organisations,” the authors wrote.
“The aim of the ACTMed trial, the first of this type of intervention in Australia, is to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a general practice-based intervention for reducing the risk of serious medication-related problems, and its impact on health care costs, health care efficiency and coordination, and patients’ experience of care.”
If a patient is at-risk
“Depending on the type of risk, actions could include contacting the person directly, or contacting their usual community pharmacist for the purpose of medication reconciliation,” the researchers wrote.
“Other actions could be asking people to visit their general practitioner or pharmacist for review, arranging pathology tests or medical imaging, and referral to a specialist or allied health professional.”
It is hoped that the trial will demonstrate a reduction in the proportion of at-risk patients experiencing medication-related problems and, as a result, a reduction in potentially preventable medication-related hospitalisations.
The trial will commence data collection in September 2023 and will be completed by 30 August 2024.
It will be the first Australian trial to develop and test a targeted medicines safety service for primary care.
It will also look at the cost of developing a digital strategy for preventing medication-related problems.
Read the Study protocol in the Medical Journal of Australia.
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