Patient Activation, Patient Empowerment, Patient Engagement
Conditions
Keywords
Medication safety, Primary care
Brief summary
The trial is to assess the impact of two patient partnership tools: (1) a one-page 'visit prep guide' given to relevant patients by clinic staff before seeing the provider, with the intention to improve communication and shared decision-making; and (2) a series of short educational videos that clinic staff can encourage patients to watch.
Detailed description
Preventable patient harms from medications are significant threats to patient safety in ambulatory and community settings and contributed 700,000 emergency department visits each year. More than a third of community-dwelling 65 years or older adults take 5 or more prescription medications. In ambulatory and community settings, more so than in inpatient settings, medication safety is shaped by interactions among patient/caregivers and different professionals across locations. We developed a set of patient partnership tools to encourage and empower patients to make use of their office visits through setting expectations of information sharing, learning basics of medication self-management, and working with community pharmacy resources. The trial will be conducted at private and safety-net primary care clinics to assess the impact of the partnership tools: 1) a one-page 'visit prep guide' given to relevant patients by clinic staff before seeing the provider, with the intention to improve communication and shared decision-making; and (2) a series of short educational videos that clinic staff can encourage patients to watch. A step-wedge design will be used, with medication use self-efficacy as the primary outcome, as measured by a validated tool. Secondary outcomes are issues identified by medication review.
Interventions
The intervention consists of two patient partnership tools: (1) a one-page 'visit prep guide' given to relevant patients by clinic staff before seeing the primary care provider, with the intention to improve communication and shared decision-making; and (2) a series of short educational videos that clinic staff can encourage patients to watch. The interventions will be included in the workflow of the clinics during the intervention periods (i.e., clinics either do not use the intervention or use them for all relevant patients depending on study period).
Sponsors
Study design
Intervention model description
Stepped wedge with a parallel control arm
Eligibility
Inclusion criteria
* Community dwelling (e.g., not in skilled nursing facilities) * Age 50 years or older * Taking 5 or more medications * English or Spanish speaking
Exclusion criteria
* Non-English and non-Spanish speaking * Impaired decision making capacity * Non-consenting
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Medication use and self-efficacy | Within 4 hours after primary care visit (one time assessment) | Medication use and self-efficacy, which is a validated 8-item, 4-point Likert scale survey with a score range of 8-32 and higher indicating higher self-efficacy. The items are: (1) It is easy for me to take my medicine on time, (2) It is easy to remember to take all my medicines, (3) It is easy for me to set a schedule to take my medicines each day, (4) It is easy for me to take my medicines each day, (5) It is easy for me to ask my pharmacist questions about my medicine, (6) It is easy for me to understand my pharmacist's instructions for my medicine, (7) It is easy for me to understand instructions on medicine bottles, (8) It is easy for me to get all the information I need about my medicine. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Medication regimen problems | Within 4 hours after primary care visit (one time assessment) | The number of medication regimen problems identified by the provider during the visit, using a medication review form, with higher number of problems indicating higher risks for medication regimen problems. Different types of regimen problems, such as unintentional duplication, will be countered and added. |
Countries
United States