AS PART of a seniors' medication reconciliation and review program run by the Illinois Department on Aging (IDA), pharmacist-led healthcare teams are embarking on a series of home visits.
The state intends its one-year campaign to help reduce the rate of readmissions to hospitals and long-term care facilities for older citizens with multiple chronic illnesses attributable to poor medication adherence.
The program started this month in collaboration with APC LLC, a pharmacist-driven care coordination service, working with the US Department of Aging to select healthcare groups to conduct the in-home visits.
The process will include gathering case manager records, patient-reported information, and clinical assessments, and reviewing patient insurance information, the IDA said.
"Older adults in Illinois are especially susceptible to nursing home and emergency room admissions due to overly complicated medication plans," said IDA Director Jean Bohnhoff.
Between one and two thousand participants are being targeted for support with a six-month review examining medication adherence, reduction in the number of medications taken, reduction in cost of medication error rates, reduction in readmission to long-term care facilities, hospitals and emergency rooms, participant satisfaction with services, and quality of life improvement.
A similar pilot has been operating in Bloomington, Minnesota, since 2014, and has seen a reduction in hospital readmissions, prompting managers to plan how they can expand the program, creating savings to make it self-funding.
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