Plan a Medication Review

A medication review event, often referred to as a “brown bag,” is a great way to reach out to seniors in the community. Participants are invited to collect all of their medication bottles, place them in a bag and bring them to the event to receive a comprehensive review of their medications. Reviews are usually conducted by pharmacists; however, other healthcare providers are encouraged to perform reviews as well.

Medication reviews are a key component of medication therapy management programs available to targeted beneficiaries as part of the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit. Providers should educate seniors to take advantage of medication management therapy services and participate in medication reviews as seniors are often unaware that these services are available.
 

Benefits of Medication Reviews

• Help optimize the medication regimen by eliminating duplicate therapies, verifying appropriateness of dose and timing of administration 
• Help identify/manage/avoid side effects and other medication-related problems 
• Provide education to help activate participant be a partner in their health 
• Facilitate communication with healthcare providers and aid medication reconciliation 
• Opportunity to create a Personal Medication Record – a Personal Medication Record is a complete list of all medications (including prescriptions, over-the-counter, dietary and herbal supplements) with dosing schedule and health information. The Personal Medication Record should be kept up to date and presented at all points of care. A Personal Medication Record can also be a component of a more detailed personal health record

These goals are best realized when pharmacists work as a team with physicians and other providers to communicate findings and incorporate medication review into routine patient care.
 

Keys to Successful Medication Reviews

• Reach out to your target audience
• Allow adequate time, space and privacy for consultations
• Provide meaningful “take-away” materials such as a Personal Medication Record and an “action plan” for following up with issues identified
• Collaborate with participants’ healthcare providers and caregivers

Plan and Perform Medication Reviews with these Useful Resources*

The New Jersey Drug Safety Initiative has facilitated numerous medication review events and has found valuable resources to help you set up medication review events and provide meaningful materials to participants:

• The University of Kentucky's “Educate Before You Medicate Program ” is a group of resources for planning and conducting successful events
• The Ohio Patient Safety Institute's Brown Bag Toolkit has planning materials and patient resources
• The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has a health literacy toolkit containing a section on how to conduct brown bag medication reviews
• Organizations such as the American Pharmacists Association, AHRQ, and www.talkaboutrx.org have patient-centered material to support your outreach

Contact us via our website, or call the Drug Safety team at 1-732-238-5570 ext. 2019, for more information on medication reviews and drug safety.

*Not an exhaustive list. Research all available resources and use the ones that work best for your patients.