With research indicating the prevalence of medication discrepancies upon hospital discharge and that the majority of family caregivers perform the skilled function of medication management, supporting patients and their families during a transition is an important component of transitional care interventions. But, what’s the best approach to do this?

There are many approaches to addressing medication errors, and they often vary on protocol such as post-discharge follow-up frequency, how home health is involved, and how pharmacists are utilized. Whether a program is designated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as qualifying as a Medication Therapy Management Program for Part D, or is starting smaller and incorporating medication reconciliation practices into its post-discharge intervention, it is imperative that transitional care programs try to offer some type of support to reduce medication errors.

However, it is a challenge to discern the specific impact of such interventions. In its recent article “Does Medication Management Really Reduce Readmissions?”, HealthLeaders Media highlights the mixed evidence base for the use of Medication Therapy Management (MTM) on reducing 30-day hospital readmissions. After sharing findings from a few MTM publications, the HealthLeaders author concludes:

Evidence supports the benefit of programs that offer three essential elements: comprehensive review of each patient’s medications, health literacy and follow-up services.

The topic of a recent Bridge Model Collaborative webinar (one perk of being a Bridge Model replication site) was “Approaches to Medication Management”. During the webinar, Bridge Model implementation sites in California, Chicago, and Philadelphia shared with the group how they help address medication errors. While sites develop their own protocol based on their own partnerships and opportunities, the Bridge sites shared common themes:

• Relying on the relationships with patients and families to reveal underlying psychosocial concerns that were impacting their ability to follow their medication plan
• Promoting health literacy with patients and family caregivers and practicing skills such as reading discharge instructions and asking medical providers for more information
• Troubleshooting medication access challenges with financial supports or other follow-up services
• Engaging medical providers – such as home health RNs, primary care providers, or pharmacists – to complete a medication reconciliation and address medication-related concerns

While it may seem challenging for a social work-driven intervention to help reduce medication errors, Bridge Model implementation sites have been effective in this arena by focusing on health literacy, improving access to medications, and collaborating with medical providers – all in order to ensure patients and their families are best supported during a care transition.