Amanda S. Mixon

Characteristics Associated With Postdischarge Medication Errors

OBJECTIVE To examine the association of patient- and medication-related factors with postdischarge medication errors. PATIENTS AND METHODS The Vanderbilt Inpatient Cohort Study includes adults hospitalized with acute coronary syndromes and/or acute decompensated heart failure. We measured health literacy, subjective numeracy, marital status, cognition, social support, educational attainment, income, depression, global health status, and medication adherence in patients enrolled from October 1, 2011, through August 31, 2012. We used binomial logistic regression to determine predictors of discordance between the discharge medication list and the patient-reported list during postdischarge medication review. RESULTS Among 471 patients (mean age, 59 years), the mean total number of medications reported was 12, and 79 patients (16.8%) had inadequate or marginal health literacy. A total of 242 patients (51.4%) were taking 1 or more discordant medication (ie, appeared on either the discharge list or patient-reported list but not both), 129 (27.4%) failed to report a medication on their discharge list, and 168 (35.7%) reported a medication not on their discharge list. In addition, 279 participants (59.2%) had a misunderstanding in indication, dose, or frequency in a cardiac medication. In multivariable analyses, higher subjective numeracy (odds ratio [OR], 0.81; 95% CI, 0.67-0.98) was associated with lower odds of having discordant medications. For cardiac medications, participants with higher health literacy (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.74-0.95), with higher subjective numeracy (OR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.63-0.95), and who were female (OR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.46-0.78) had lower odds of misunderstandings in indication, dose, or frequency. CONCLUSION Medication errors are present in approximately half of patients after hospital discharge and are more common among patients with lower numeracy or health literacy.

Geriatric Syndromes in Hospitalized Older Adults Discharged to Skilled Nursing Facilities

To determine the prevalence, recognition, co‐occurrence, and recent onset of geriatric syndromes in individuals transferred from the hospital to a skilled nursing facility (SNF).

Electronic surveillance and pharmacist intervention for vulnerable older inpatients on high-risk medication regimens.

To develop and evaluate an electronic tool to assist clinical pharmacists with reviewing potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) in hospitalized elderly adults.

Potentially Avoidable Readmissions of Patients Discharged to Post-Acute Care: Perspectives of Hospital and Skilled Nursing Facility Staff

Hospital readmissions from skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) are common. Previous research has not examined how assessments of avoidable readmissions differ between hospital and SNF perspectives.

Medication Nonadherence Before Hospitalization for Acute Cardiac Events

Medication nonadherence increases the risk of hospitalization and poor outcomes, particularly among patients with cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this study was to examine characteristics associated with medication nonadherence among adults hospitalized for cardiovascular disease. Patients in the Vanderbilt Inpatient Cohort Study who were admitted for acute coronary syndrome or heart failure completed validated assessments of self-reported medication adherence (the Adherence to Refills and Medications Scale), demographic characteristics, health literacy, numeracy, social support, depressive symptoms, and health competence. We modeled the independent predictors of nonadherence before hospitalization, standardizing estimated effects by each predictors interquartile range. Among 1,967 patients studied, 70.7% indicated at least some degree of medication nonadherence leading up to their hospitalization. Adherence was significantly lower among patients with lower health literacy (0.18-point change in adherence score per interquartile range change in health literacy), lower numeracy (0.28), lower health competence (0.30), and more depressive symptoms (0.52) and those of younger age, of non-White race, of male gender, or with less social support. Medication nonadherence in the period before hospitalization is more prevalent among patients with lower health literacy, numeracy, or other intervenable psychosocial factors. Addressing these factors in a coordinated care model may reduce hospitalization rates.

Medications associated with geriatric syndromes and their prevalence in older hospitalized adults discharged to skilled nursing facilities

BACKGROUND More than half of the hospitalized older adults discharged to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) have more than 3 geriatric syndromes. Pharmacotherapy may be contributing to geriatric syndromes in this population. OBJECTIVES Develop a list of medications associated with geriatric syndromes and describe their prevalence in patients discharged from acute care to SNFs. DESIGN Literature review and multidisciplinary expert panel discussion, followed by cross-sectional analysis. SETTING Academic medical center in the United States PARTICIPANTS: One hundred fifty-four hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries discharged to SNFs. MEASUREMENTS Development of a list of medications that are associated with 6 geriatric syndromes. Prevalence of the medications associated with geriatric syndromes was examined in the hospital discharge sample. RESULTS A list of 513 medications was developed as potentially contributing to 6 geriatric syndromes: cognitive impairment, delirium, falls, reduced appetite or weight loss, urinary incontinence, and depression. Medications included 18 categories. Antiepileptics were associated with all syndromes, whereas antipsychotics, antidepressants, antiparkinsonism, and opioid agonists were associated with 5 geriatric syndromes. In the prevalence sample, patients were discharged to SNFs with an overall average of 14.0 (±4.7) medications, including an average of 5.9 (±2.2) medications that could contribute to geriatric syndromes, with falls having the most associated medications at discharge at 5.5 (±2.2). CONCLUSIONS Many commonly prescribed medications are associated with geriatric syndromes. Over 40% of all medications ordered upon discharge to SNFs were associated with geriatric syndromes and could be contributing to the high prevalence of geriatric syndromes experienced by this population. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2016;11:694-700.

Care transitions: a leverage point for safe and effective medication use in older adults--a mini-review.

Older adults often face challenges as they transition out of the acute care hospital, especially with regard to adhering to their medications. In this narrative review, we discuss medication adherence in older adults across the continuum of care, describing reasons for nonadherence, methods to assess adherence and tools to improve adherence, with particular focus on emerging techniques and technologies. Taking steps at care transitions to assess medications and foster adherence to the medication regimen can increase the safety of older adults following hospitalization.

Medication Discrepancies and Associated Risk Factors Identified in Home Health patients.

Medication discrepancies can place patients at increased risk for adverse drug events. We sought to determine the frequency, type, and reason for medication discrepancies in patients receiving home healthcare following hospital discharge. We conducted a retrospective, observational study of adults discharged from an academic medical center who received home healthcare following hospital discharge from one affiliated home healthcare agency. Medication discrepancies were identified by comparing the hospital discharge medication list to what the patient was taking at the first home healthcare visit. Almost all patients (66/70, 94%) had at least one medication discrepancy. The median number of discrepancies per patient was 5. Nearly half of the discrepancies were omissions (46%), in which the patient was not taking a medication on the discharge medication list. Increased age was significantly associated with fewer medication discrepancies overall (IRR = 0.99, p < 0.05). Higher health literacy was associated with more omissions (IRR = 1.85, p < 0.05).

Development of a multivariable model to predict vulnerability in older American patients hospitalised with cardiovascular disease

Objectives To identify vulnerable cardiovascular patients in the hospital using a self-reported function-based screening tool. Participants Prospective observational cohort study of 445 individuals aged ≥65 years admitted to a university medical centre hospital within the USA with acute coronary syndrome and/or decompensated heart failure. Methods Participants completed an inperson interview during hospitalisation, which included vulnerable functional status using the Vulnerable Elders Survey (VES-13), sociodemographic, healthcare utilisation practices and clinical patient-specific measures. A multivariable proportional odds logistic regression model examined associations between VES-13 and prior healthcare utilisation, as well as other coincident medical and psychosocial risk factors for poor outcomes in cardiovascular disease. Results Vulnerability was highly prevalent (54%) and associated with a higher number of clinic visits, emergency room visits and hospitalisations (all p<0.001). A multivariable analysis demonstrating a 1-point increase in VES-13 (vulnerability) was independently associated with being female (OR 1.55, p=0.030), diagnosis of heart failure (OR 3.11, p<0.001), prior hospitalisations (OR 1.30, p<0.001), low social support (OR 1.42, p=0.007) and depression (p<0.001). A lower VES-13 score (lower vulnerability) was associated with increased health literacy (OR 0.70, p=0.002). Conclusions Vulnerability to functional decline is highly prevalent in hospitalised older cardiovascular patients and was associated with patient risk factors for adverse outcomes and an increased use of healthcare services.

Shed-MEDS: pilot of a patient-centered deprescribing framework reduces medications in hospitalized older adults being transferred to inpatient postacute care

Background: Polypharmacy is common in hospitalized older adults. Deprescribing interventions are not well described in the acute-care setting. The objective of this study was to describe a hospital-based, patient-centered deprescribing protocol (Shed-MEDS) and report pilot results. Methods: This was a pilot study set in one academic medical center in the United States. Participants consisted of a convenience sample of 40 Medicare-eligible, hospitalized patients with at least five prescribed medications. A deprescribing protocol (Shed-MEDS) was implemented among 20 intervention and 20 usual care control patients during their hospital stay. The primary outcome was the total number of medications deprescribed from hospital enrollment. Deprescribed was defined as medication termination or dose reduction. Enrollment medications reflected all prehospital medications and active in-hospital medications. Baseline characteristics and outcomes were compared between the intervention and usual care groups using simple logistic or linear regression for categorical and continuous measures, respectively. Results: There was no significant difference between groups in mean age, sex or Charlson comorbidity index. The intervention and control groups had a comparable number of medications at enrollment, 25.2 (±6.3) and 23.4 (±3.8), respectively. The number of prehospital medications in each group was 13.3 (±4.6) and 15.3 (±4.6), respectively. The Shed-MEDS protocol compared with usual care significantly increased the mean number of deprescribed medications at hospital discharge and reduced the total medication burden by 11.6 versus 9.1 (p = 0.032) medications. The deprescribing intervention was associated with a difference of 4.6 [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.5–6.7, p < 0.001] in deprescribed medications and a 0.5 point reduction (95% CI −0.01 to 1.1) in the drug burden index. Conclusions: A hospital-based, patient-centered deprescribing intervention is feasible and may reduce the medication burden in older adults.