We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Medicines reablement in intermediate health and social care services.
- Authors
Gerrish, Kate; Laker, Sara; Wright, Sarah; Stainrod, Wendy
- Abstract
AimTo evaluate a medicines reablement initiative involving health and social care, to include consideration of the training package, proportion of patients reabled successfully, and patient and staff perspectives of the service.BackgroundIntermediate care services provide short-term intervention to support patients with chronic conditions transition from hospital to community-based services and involves maximising patients’ independence through reablement. The term ‘medicines reablement’ describes the process of rehabilitating patients to be independent with their medication.MethodsPharmacy technicians led the medicines reablement initiative. They delivered a competency-based training programme for frontline health and social care staff. They assessed and set goals with patients to facilitate independence in self-administration of their medication. The pharmacy technicians provided on-going support to staff helping patients to reable. They reassessed patients after six weeks to determine if medicines reablement had been successful or whether further input was needed. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with pharmacy technicians, frontline staff, managers, and patients.FindingsTwenty per cent of patients discharged from hospital to intermediate care were assessed to be suitable for medicines reablement. Of these patients, 44% were successfully reabled and a further 25% benefited from the input of a pharmacy technician. Patients and staff were positive about medicines reablement, emphasising the importance of patients attaining independence for self-administration of medication. Although following training, health and social care staff felt confident in facilitating medicines reablement they valued on-going access to pharmacy technicians for timely support, help with problem solving, and advice throughout the reablement process.ConclusionMedicines reablement can lead to patients becoming independent with taking medication and contribute to staff satisfaction. Pharmacy technicians can play an important part in delivering medicines reablement training to frontline staff and overseeing the reablement process. Further research examining medicines reablement is needed to develop a stronger evidence base.
- Publication
Primary Health Care Research & Development, 2017, Vol 18, Issue 4, p305
- ISSN
1463-4236
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1017/S1463423617000238