Unleashing pharmacists to optimise high quality care

There’s no doubt of the continued importance of medication safety in aged care service delivery and regulation. Under the Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards this will be even more so.

Whilst Residential Medication Management Review (RMMR) and Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) pharmacists have been around for 25 years, an emerging cohort of specially trained Aged Care Onsite Pharmacists – or ACOPs – have arrived on the scene just in time to help.

Background

In response to the aged care royal commission, the ACOP measure commenced on 1 July 2024. At the same time medication administration and management remain the leading cause of complaints to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.

Quality Standard Outcome 5.3 on Safe and Quality Use of Medicines will further amplify the importance and compliance risk associated with medication management. 

Positively the incoming Aged Care Onsite Pharmacists will be well positioned to champion Outcome 5.3. It means existing RMMR/QUM pharmacists will need to expand their scope and optimise their impact to meet client needs.

Understanding Standard 5.3 – Safe and quality use of medicines

The fifth Standard under the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards concerns clinical care, and the third element of that is focused on the safe and quality use of medicines. According to the list of action, providers must:

1. implement a system for the safe and quality use of medicines
2. have processes to ensure medication reviews are conducted
3. document existing or known allergies or side effects to medicines
4. implement processes to identify, monitor and mitigate risks to older people associated with the use of high-risk medicines, including reducing the inappropriate use of psychotropic medicines
5. have processes to report adverse medicine and vaccine events to the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
6. regularly review and improve the effectiveness of the system for the safe and quality use of medicines.

Pharmacist services for residential care

In addition to ACOPs, and RMMR and QUM pharmacists, the other government-funded pharmacist service for residential aged care is the National Immunisation Program Vaccinations in Pharmacy, or NIPVP, program.

Each program involves appropriately trained pharmacists who are well placed to help you achieve the outcomes required under the forthcoming Standards.

Below are strategies to maximise the outcomes of each of these government-funded initiatives.

Optimising the ACOP service

• align the ACOP’s roster and workflows with the needs of the residents, staff and GPs
• maintain coverage with ongoing QUM Service style medication support for the non-ACOP days
• streamline organisational medication use reporting and benchmarking across ACOP and RMMR/QUM sites
• be mindful of resident choice and the onsite service’s clinical independence if sourcing the ACOP from a supply pharmacy.

Optimising the RMMR service

• target RMMRs to high-risk residents and align to the Outcome 5.3.2 specifications
• prioritise RMMR service quality, consistency and accountability
• promote collaborative GP outcomes and multidisciplinary engagement
• ensure the clinical independence of the contracted RMMR provider and pharmacist
• guarantee the cyber-security and privacy of the residents’ digital health data
• encourage follow-up RMMR activities to action interventions.

Optimising the QUM service

• harmonise QUM activities to the clinical needs of the resident cohort
• streamline QUM activities to the care provider’s clinical governance mechanisms and medication policy and procedures
• establish benchmarking, trend analysis and continuous improvement related to medication use and incidents
• guarantee the cyber-security and privacy of the facility and residents’ digital health data
• ensure the clinical independence of QUM activities from pharmaceutical supply functions
• provide resources that support consumers’ medication preferences, informed decision making and dignity of risk
• deliver training that empowers medication competent care workers to support the safe and quality use of medicines.

Optimising the NIPVIP to improve vaccination rates

• Utilise in-facility pharmacist vaccination clinics to immunise residents against COVID, influenza, shingles and pneumonia
• Allow ‘knowledge-broker’ pharmacists to counsel residents/family and staff who have vaccine hesitancy due to health literacy or vaccine-fatigue.

Prepare your organisation for the strengthened quality standards by engaging one of Australia’s leading RMMR, QUM and ACOP service provider.

Contact Choice Aged Care, your partners in high-quality care.

E: michael@choiceagedcare.com.au
T: 0417 953 536
W: www.choiceagedcare.com.au