Provision of home medicines reviews in Australia: linking population need with service provision and available pharmacist workforce.

ConclusionGiven that polypharmacy is a risk factor for medication-related problems, and that medication review is one of the few targeted strategies currently available to address medication-related problems in the population, service provision may be inadequate. Policy options to improve service provision could include interventions to increase workforce productivity and relaxing the current eligibility criteria for review, especially in rural and remote areas.What is known about the topic?Polypharmacy is a risk factor for medication-related problems, which can cause increased morbidity and mortality in the population.What does this paper add?This paper provides representative, population-based rates of polypharmacy in Australia and uses these rates in a needs-based analysis of service provision and workforce adequacy to provide home medicines review services.What are the implications for practitioners?Several policy options are available for consideration, including interventions to increase workforce productivity and relaxation of the current eligibility criteria for medicines review, especially in rural and remote areas. PMID: 33213693 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Australian Health Review - Category: Hospital Management Authors: Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: research