MedeHealth initially pondered this question five years ago. Good medication management is vital.
The answer to the question is a resounding yes and there are a number of reasons for this.
How many carers are there in Australia?
Australia has over 2.7 million carers, 12% of the population. The chances are you personally are a carer, need a carer or know a carer, and they are responsible for many tasks including medication management. ( http://www.carersaustralia.com.au/about-carers/ )
The care workforce is made up of:
Formal paid care workers
Informal care workers such as family and friends
Allowing access to high quality information on demand about topics such as administering medicines safely or how to use a dose administration aid properly are hard to find for both the formal care workforce and the informal care workforce. MedeHealth will shortly release a free app which will allow you to access information on your electronic devices when you need it. While initially focusing on medication, we’ll venture into other areas including the rapidly expanding area of caring for people at home. Our aim is to produce a free app with high quality information available free of charge on demand.
Are Medication Competent Carers an alternative in residential aged care?
The risk with medication competent carers is very real with issues such as health literacy and the amount and type of training being key considerations.
Sachet packing and Webster packing offering a systematic approach, where pharmacies check medication profiles and pack medication into Dose Administration Aids to reduce the risk of medication error. Current data suggests that incorrect medication administration happens in 16-27% of care recipients, and that packing of medicines into dose administration aids reduces errors markedly. To further reduce this risk through staff training, MedeHealth offers a series of more than 18 Medication modules suitable for both nursing staff and medication competent carers where applicable as part of our suite of aged care specific medication modules ( www.alliedacademies.org/articles/medication-errors-in-nursing-homes-the-role-of-pharmacological-knowledge.pdf )
These modules are written by an Accredited Clinical Pharmacist and have been peer reviewed by clinical, compliance and HR industry leaders in aged care. The modules are mapped against legislation, standards and guidelines associated with medication administration and cover diverse topics such as:
- Administering oral medications safely
- Crushing medications
- Cytotoxic drugs
- Dose administration aids such as blister packs and sachet packs
- Drugs as hazardous substances
- Administering eye drops
- Correct use of inhaler devices
- Application of patches
- High risk medicines
- Oral health and medication
- Strong pain medicines
Author: Paul Straschko B.Pharm AACPA