HealthPartners pharmacist home visits reduce hospital readmissions
09 February 2016 - 5:45AM
Business Wire
Pilot program expands in 2016
A pilot program that provides home visits from a pharmacist
reduced the number of preventable hospital readmissions for frail
elderly patients, according to a new report from HealthPartners.
Started as a pilot in 2014, the medication therapy management (MTM)
home visit program focuses on patients with serious, chronic
illnesses, who take multiple medications and are unable to leave
their homes.
Patients who choose to participate in the program are visited by
a clinical pharmacist within a week after leaving Regions Hospital.
During the visit, the pharmacist reviews medications, helps the
patient understand how to take medications as prescribed and
evaluates whether there are any safety risks in the home. There is
no charge to patients for the visits.
The most common medication problems identified by the visits
include:
- Medication is no longer needed or a new
medication is needed
- Medication is not being taken as
prescribed
- A dose is too high
ResultsAmong patients who received a home visit in the
first year, 6 percent were readmitted to Regions Hospital within
30-days after a hospital stay. That is less than half of the
readmission rate (16 percent) among patients who did not to receive
the MTM home visits.
“This pilot program shows that pharmacists are an important part
of the care team in supporting patients with chronic illnesses
which can also help patients avoid an unnecessary hospital visit,”
said Rick Bruzek, PharmD, HealthPartners vice president of pharmacy
services.
In 2016, HealthPartners is expanding this program by partnering
with Ramsey County paramedics to provide MTM home visits to
patients with heart failure. Read the report.
About HealthPartnersHealthPartners is the largest
consumer-governed, non-profit health care organization in the
nation with a mission to improve health and well-being in
partnership with members, patients and the community. For more
information, visit healthpartners.com.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160208006148/en/
HealthPartnersPatricia Lund, 952-883-5487Media Pager,
651-629-0411patricia.a.lund@healthpartners.com