Pharmacy Daily | HIMR to close medicines safety gaps

NEW funding models to support hospital-initiated medication reviews (HIMR) will help improve transition of care and boost medicines safety, the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA) believes.

Releasing its HIMR: Hospital pharmacy practice update, the SHPA's Transitions of Care Primary Care Chair, Deirdre Criddle, the policy changes announced in Apr to allow hospital-based clinicians to refer high-risk patients to the Home Medicines Review (HMR), Residential Medication Management Review (RMMR) and Hospital Outreach Medication Review (HOMR) pathways, would support more effective medicine management across transitions of care.

"Safe transitions of care start in the hospital," she said.

"With medication safety now Australia's 10th national health priority area, we want to help drive the conversation around pharmacist-led models of care targeting timely post-discharge medication management services for high-risk patients.

"It is important to note these pathways do not replace pathways for services already in place.

"They are additional or complementary pathways so more people can access medication review, especially when poor resourcing or a lack of time may prevent effective referral.

"We feel the SHPA HIMR Practice Update is the beginning of an overdue conversation between hospital and primary care, to change the culture from discharge to handover and make a real difference for our most vulnerable patients."

SHPA Transitions of Care and Primary Care Leadership Committee member Dr Manya Angley, said the document supports hospitals to integrate new referral pathways into patient care according to their local workforce and community needs.

"This practice update provides a long-awaited framework for authentic collaboration between health professions to achieve our common goal -- the best outcomes for patients at risk of medication-related harm," she said.

"Every sector of our profession now has a responsibility to engage with the HIMR Practice Update, and ensure the protocols effectively address this long-standing gap in care; we encourage Australian hospitals to embrace this complex area."