Home Health Quality Improvement National Campaign - Medication Management Survey Results

The tool that the respondents found the most helpful from the "Be Safe & Take" Clinician Enrichment Program: (Multiple responses were allowed)

53% "Be Safe & Take" Medication Competency
52% Medication Assessment Protocol
44% Medication Discrepancy Tool
39% Medication Simplification Protocol/Beers Criteria
38% Medication Non-Adherence Staff Education Tool
24% and 5% Universal Medication Forms (English and Spanish)

What percentage of respondents stated they would make changes to their practices? - 83%!

So, why are some respondents not making changes to their practices?

Many are already doing this best practice and do not see the need for further enhancement

How are survey respondents making changes to their practice(s)? (Multiple responses were allowed)

68% are using (or plan to use) the "Be Safe & Take" Clinician Enrichment Program to improve the outcome 'improvement in management of oral medications'
46% are using (or plan to use) the "Be Safe & Take" Clinician Enrichment Program for orientation purposes
20% are using (or plan to use) the "Be Safe & Take" Clinician Enrichment Program for an annual competency for nurses
20% are using (or plan to use) the "Be Safe & Take" Clinician Enrichment Program for an annual competency for nurses and therapists

How are most respondents using the Web site? (Multiple responses were allowed)

63% use the educational WebEx, which is specific for each month's Best Practice Intervention Package
33% only use the Web site to download the Best Practice Intervention Package
8% are using the "For Physician" Web page
5% are using the "For Managed Care" Web page

As in the previous surveys, there were many, many comments on the package. Thanks to all! This helps improve and enhance the packages! We will all learn how to better use the packages based on some of the suggestions in the comments. Selected comments are below, along with remarks from the Home Health Quality Improvement Organization Support Center (HHQIOSC) team.

Comments	Explanation or remarks from HHQIOSC team
"Be Safe & Take" is excellent. The test will be a helpful orientation tool for new employees as well as a competency test for staff.	Thanks! We have heard from many HHAs that are using the "Be Safe & Take" competency. This provides education in management of medications to new staff, as well as seasoned staff.
We have distributed the package to all clinical staff and had an enthusiastic response. Nurses, therapists and aides have all reported a new awareness of their role in medication management to prevent acute care hospitalization.	Glad to hear it. All the packages are designed for interdisciplinary staff. Medication management has traditionally fallen under the role of the nurse, but it is important for all disciplines to participate in improving management of medications.
CNEs for clinicians are greatly appreciated. We hope there will be more! If they could "count" for PT, PTA, OT and COTA it would be even better.	Starting with the June package - Phone Monitoring and Frontloading Visits, PT, OT and ST can complete the track for a certificate of participation that may be applied toward CEUs for most states and national associations (each state has different requirements).
Fast Track is an excellent idea - time saving although I do look through everything in the entire package then sort out what we need or can use most effectively and efficiently.	Perfect! You have a good understanding of how to best utilize these packages - prudently select action items and/or tools that fit your agency's needs.
I value getting all of the packages monthly, but am not sure we can implement all these changes so rapidly. The medication management is one that will receive most focus attention at this time.	Judiciously select what changes you wish to implement. A few carefully selected actions may have more impact than several! Also, good work selecting which packages will receive more attention than others. Medication management appears to be a focus for many HHAs.
This comment is related to the whole Home Health Quality Improvement Program. We are a very large agency with multiple branches. We cannot keep up with the monthly packages so right now we are about a month behind. By the time we review the package and determine what we want to implement and how the new forms, resources effect what we already have in place the month has passed and we have a new package. We will eventually use most of the packages, but one a month is just too much.	Each agency will need to establish a timeline. Just a reminder, this is a 12-month campaign. Go ahead and download the resources even if you cannot use them in any given month but would like to use at a later time.
I loved the Universal Medication Form. We personalized the forms and have already started utilizing them as a personal health record for our patients to take with them to all clinical appointments or ER visits. We also have our nurses setting up follow-up appointments once the patient is discharged from the hospital on the second visit to the patient's home. This has made it easier to have a physician to call with medication questions or changes.	An excellent approach! Also, you are establishing the potential for better patient outcomes by proactively working with other care providers.