Medication management project for older people commences
A new pilot project designed to help older people better manage their medications has commenced at several general practices in Townsville and Charters Towers.
Five pharmacists have joined seven general practices as part of the Older Persons Medication Management Pilot Project, funded by Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN).
NQPHN has partnered with the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) to deliver the pilot project, which aims to increase access to services delivered by non-dispensing pharmacists for people over 65 and First Nations peoples over 50.
The general practice pharmacists are non-dispensing pharmacists embedded within the practice as part of the multidisciplinary team who can provide independent advice, medication reviews, improved medication safety and education for patients to better manage their health.
NQPHN CEO Ben Tooth said the project connected older people to a pharmacist in a general practice who could help them manage their chronic conditions and medications at home.
“Many older people have complex medication regimens due to their chronic conditions, which some manage themselves,” Tooth said.
“Alongside a complex medication regime, many medications need to be taken at different times, which can also be hard to keep up with. Medication errors become much more common for people taking more than three medications.
“We are pleased to be able to support our local general practices in delivering multidisciplinary care to help overcome the challenges older people face with their medication management.”
PSA Project Manager Brooke Snow said integrating pharmacists into a general practice’s interdisciplinary team was a step forward in delivering exceptional primary health care and showed superior health outcomes for patients.
“We have had a smooth and effective commencement of service provision resulting in all pharmacists contributing to the interdisciplinary team far earlier than the prior expectation of a 12-week integration period,” Snow said.
“All of the practices and GPs are incredibly grateful to have the medication expertise of the pharmacist onsite allowing for far greater collaboration and timely medication optimisation.
“We look forward to continuing to evaluate the outcomes of the Older Persons Medication Management Pilot Project and anticipate positive patient experiences and improved efficiencies for our GPs and practices.”
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