September 30, 2013 — As a special project for the Medicare program, Acumentra Health will distribute an innovative Medication Safety Database and will train Oregon clinical practices to use it in quality improvement (QI) efforts. Clinicians can use this evidence-based tool to improve systems that help identify and resolve medication-related problems, potentially leading to better outcomes for patients.
Acumentra Health received this Special Innovation Project contract in its capacity as the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for Oregon. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services chose special project contractors that proposed unique QI approaches aligned with Medicare’s national goals, which include improved medication safety.
The Medication Safety Database tool has been a key feature of Acumentra Health’s collaboration with Oregon clinics to integrate clinical pharmacy services (CPS) into the delivery of primary care. The CPS approach, in which pharmacists meet directly with patients to review prescriptions and symptoms, has been proven to improve health outcomes, reduce unnecessary and costly interventions, and increase satisfaction among patients and providers. An integrated CPS program can help a clinic prevent medication-related problems, including adverse drug events that can harm high-risk patients.
State and national entities have identified a need for a tool to help manage data on medication safety. Currently, no standardized data management systems are available to systematically capture and report on medication-related problems, CPS interventions, and outcomes. There is also a need for a tool to capture population data that can inform state-level QI initiatives and support the long-term business case for integrating CPS into primary care.
Acumentra Health developed the Medication Safety Database by expanding tools created by
Dr. Steven Chen of the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy and by Health Services Advisory Group. The modified tool supports standardized documentation of CPS interventions and medication-related problems. Clinics can use the tool to assess their own data on drug utilization and outcomes for individual patients as well as across patient populations.
“The data collected through our project will support state and national efforts to improve the documentation of medication-related problems and CPS interventions,” said Susan Yates Miller, project leader for Acumentra Health. “Ultimately, this project will inform recommendations for integrating CPS documentation capability into electronic health record systems. It can also help demonstrate the positive impact of CPS on care for high-risk patients, supporting the transition to Oregon’s Coordinated Care Organization model.”
Acumentra Health will provide technical assistance and online resources to help as many as 15 Oregon clinics implement and use the database. Clinics eligible for assistance include Federally Qualified Health Centers, community health centers, and safety-net clinics that provide care to Medicare, Medicaid, and dually eligible patients. These clinics serve high-risk, complex patients with some of the costliest healthcare needs.
Participating clinics will receive technical assistance from clinical pharmacy leadership in Oregon, support for improving systems that identify and resolve medication-related problems among high-risk patients, and training on standards of care and standardized data collection for CPS. Project results should be available by mid-2014.
Recruitment of clinics to take part in the Special Innovation Project is still underway. To learn more about this project and the benefits of participation, contact Susan Yates Miller at [email protected] or 503-382-3922.
