Polypharmacy occurs when people take multiple medications and is especially common among older adults, leaving them at risk of medication-related challenges. Even if someone takes their medications as prescribed, they could be at risk of harmful drug interactions, which can lead to adverse drug events. These events cause over 1.5 million ER visits each year.
The good news is many adverse drug events are preventable. Working closely with pharmacists, PACE clinicians can help programs make the most of PACE pharmacy, optimizing pharmacy care, reducing risk of medication-related complications and helping participants safely age in place.
Building Relationships with Pharmacists
In caring for participants, it’s common for PACE clinicians to build relationships with specialists, like cardiologists, rheumatologists or nephrologists. A PACE clinician might connect directly with a specialist, for example, after participant visits. This allows the clinician to ask questions so they can get a better understanding of any diagnoses made and recommendations to optimize care.
Similarly, it’s important PACE clinicians build relationships with pharmacists, who play a valuable role in keeping participants healthier at home.
Leaning on Pharmacists as the Single Source of Truth
While a participant’s medications might come from several active prescribers, pharmacists are well positioned to review a participant’s medication list holistically, in real time, and assess risk based on key safety factors. So, it’s vital for clinicians to work closely with pharmacists when it comes to medication management.
Advanced-trained pharmacists can help identify participants at high risk of medication-related complications. Whether a PACE program is a startup with 10 participants or has grown to enroll hundreds, it’s important to know who is at high risk for adverse drug events and requires immediate medication management. But this is just the start.
For PACE programs working with a call center, like CareKinesis PACE Pharmacy, it’s essential for clinicians to regularly schedule and attend polypharmacy reviews. During these calls, pharmacists meet with clinicians individually to discuss participants identified as high risk and their recommendations to reduce medication-related complications.
These calls often shed light on opportunities to deprescribe or take other measures to decrease potential drug interactions. Depending on the circumstances, if deprescribing is not appropriate, the pharmacist might recommend finding an alternative drug. And for certain instances where it is not suitable to change medications, the conversation might focus on what clinicians should monitor.
Or the pharmacist might recommend spacing out the participant’s medications to avoid interaction. While it’s important participants take the most appropriate medications, it’s also vital they take them at the right time.
Advanced-trained pharmacists are experts in medication management, making polypharmacy calls key to fully leveraging PACE pharmacy services. Clinicians should ensure they are taking advantage of these calls and the opportunities they present to work closely with pharmacists to further reduce risk of medication-related complications.
But PACE clinicians don’t need to wait for regularly scheduled polypharmacy calls to collaborate with a pharmacist. For PACE programs that use round-the-clock pharmacy services, like CareKinesis, clinicians can connect with a pharmacist for support 24/7.
Leveraging PGx Analysis
PACE clinicians might wonder why a medication only works for some participants or why certain people have side effects from the drug, but not others. Certain medications that are common in PACE—including some opioids like hydrocodone, oxycodone and codeine—need a specific enzyme to be metabolized. Whether a participant has this enzyme depends on their genetic makeup.
Pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing looks at how genetic factors could impact a person’s response to certain medications. In leveraging PGx testing, clinicians have the opportunity to consult specially trained pharmacists, who analyze participant test results and shed light on the findings. These consultations are key to making the most of PACE pharmacy, as they equip clinicians with another layer of analysis in optimizing participant care.
Improving Program and Participant Outcomes
Building relationships and working closely with advance-trained pharmacists, clinicians can help further optimize medication management and deliver targeted clinical interventions for participants. In optimizing clinical care and reducing medication-related complications, PACE programs can decrease ER visits and hospitalizations.
This in turn reduces avoidable medical spend, helping programs achieve clinical, quality and financial goals. But above all, optimized pharmacy care can lead to better overall health for participants and improved quality of life.
For more information on working with advanced-trained pharmacists or how to make the most of PACE pharmacy, please contact our team.
