Improving individualized prescription in patients with multimorbidity through medication review.

BACKGROUND: Older patients tend to have multimorbidity, represented by multiple chronic diseases or geriatric conditions, which leads to a growing number of prescribed medications. As a result, pharmacological prescription has become a major concern because of the increased difficulties to ensure appropriate prescription in older adults. The study's main objectives were to characterize a cohort of older adults with multimorbidity, carry out a medication review and compare the pharmacological data before and after the medication review globally and according to the frailty index. METHODS: This was a quasi-experimental (uncontrolled pre-post) study with a cohort of patients ≥ 65 years old with multimorbidity. Data were collected from June 2019 to October 2020. Variables assessed included demographic, clinical, and pharmacological data, degree of frailty (Frail-VIG index), medication regimen complexity index, anticholinergic and or sedative burden index, and monthly drug expenditure. Finally, a medication review was carried out by an interdisciplinary team (primary care team and a consultant team with a geriatrician and a clinical pharmacist) by applying the Patient-Centered Prescription model to align the treatment with care goals. RESULTS: Four hundred twenty-eight patients were recruited [66.6% women; mean age 85.5 (SD 7.67)]. The mean frail index was 0.39 (SD 0.13), corresponding with moderate frailty. Up to 90% of patients presented at least one inappropriate prescription, and the mean of inappropriate prescriptions per patient was 3.14 (SD 2.27). At the three-month follow-up [mortality of 17.7% (n = 76)], the mean chronic medications per patient decreased by 17.96%, varying from 8.13 (SD 3.87) to 6.67 (SD 3.72) (p < 0.001). The medication regimen complexity index decreased by 19.03%, from 31.0 (SD 16.2) to 25.1 (SD 15.1), and the drug burden index mean decreased by 8.40%, from 1.19 (SD 0.82) to 1.09 (SD 0.82) (p < 0.001). A decrease in polypharmacy, medication regimen complexity index, and drug burden index was more frequent among frail patients, especially those with severe frailty (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: An individualized medication review in frail older patients, applying the Patient-Centered Prescription model, decreases pharmacological parameters related to adverse drug effects, such as polypharmacy, therapeutical complexity, and anticholinergic and, or sedative burden. The benefits are for patients with frailty.

[Spanish translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the ARMS-scale for measuring medication adherence in polypathological patients]. / Traducción y adaptación transcultural al español del cuestionario ARMS para la medida de la adherencia en pacientes pluripatológicos.

AIM: Translate the ARMS scale into Spanish ensuring cross-cultural equivalence for measuring medication adherence in polypathological patients. DESIGN: Translation, cross-cultural adaptation and pilot testing. LOCATION: Secondary hospital. MEASUREMENTS: (i)Forward and blind-back translations followed by cross-cultural adaptation through qualitative methodology to ensure conceptual, semantic and content equivalence between the original scale and the Spanish version. (ii)Pilot testing in non-institutionalized polypathological patients to assess the instrument for clarity. RESULTS: The Spanish version of the ARMS scale has been obtained. Overall scores from translators involved in forward and blind-back translations were consistent with a low difficulty for assuring conceptual equivalence between both languages. Pilot testing (cognitive debriefing) in a sample of 40 non-institutionalized polypathological patients admitted to an internal medicine department of a secondary hospital showed an excellent clarity. CONCLUSIONS: The ARMS-e scale is a Spanish-adapted version of the ARMS scale, suitable for measuring adherence in polypathological patients. Its structure enables a multidimensional approach of the lack of adherence allowing the implementation of individualized interventions guided by the barriers detected in every patient.

[Interventions for improving adherence to treatment in patients with multiple pathologies: overview of systematic reviews]. / Intervenciones para la mejora de la adherencia al tratamiento en pacientes pluripatológicos: resumen de revisiones sistemáticas.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the available scientific evidence regarding the efficacy of interventions aimed to enhance medication adherence in patients with multiple chronic conditions (PMCC). DESIGN: Overview of systematic reviews. DATA SOURCES: The following databases were consulted (September 2013): Pubmed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, CRD and WoS to identify interventions aimed to enhance medication adherence in PMCC, or otherwise, patients with chronic diseases common in the PMCC, or polypharmacy. STUDY SELECTION: Systematic reviews of clinical trials focused on PMCC or similar were included. They should compare the efficacy of any intervention aimed to improve compliance to prescribed and self-administered medications with clinical practice or other interventions. DATA EXTRACTION: Information about the study population, nature of intervention and efficacy in terms of improved adherence was extracted. RESULTS: 566 articles were retrieved of which 9 systematic reviews were included. None was specifically focused on PMCC but considered patients with chronic diseases common in the PMCC, patients with more than one chronic disease and polypharmacy. The overall effectiveness of interventions was modest without relevant differences between behavioural, educational and combined interventions. Some components of these interventions including patient counselling and regimen simplification appear to be effective tools in improving adherence in this population group. CONCLUSION: There is a large heterogeneity of interventions aimed to improve adherence with modest efficacy, none in PMCC.

An Ontology-Based Approach to Improving Medication Appropriateness in Older Patients: Algorithm Development and Validation Study.

Background: Inappropriate medication in older patients with multimorbidity results in a greater risk of adverse drug events. Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) are intended to improve medication appropriateness. One approach to improving CDSSs is to use ontologies instead of relational databases. Previously, we developed OntoPharma-an ontology-based CDSS for reducing medication prescribing errors. Objective: The primary aim was to model a domain for improving medication appropriateness in older patients (chronic patient domain). The secondary aim was to implement the version of OntoPharma containing the chronic patient domain in a hospital setting. Methods: A 4-step process was proposed. The first step was defining the domain scope. The chronic patient domain focused on improving medication appropriateness in older patients. A group of experts selected the following three use cases: medication regimen complexity, anticholinergic and sedative drug burden, and the presence of triggers for identifying possible adverse events. The second step was domain model representation. The implementation was conducted by medical informatics specialists and clinical pharmacists using Protégé-OWL (Stanford Center for Biomedical Informatics Research). The third step was OntoPharma-driven alert module adaptation. We reused the existing framework based on SPARQL to query ontologies. The fourth step was implementing the version of OntoPharma containing the chronic patient domain in a hospital setting. Alerts generated from July to September 2022 were analyzed. Results: We proposed 6 new classes and 5 new properties, introducing the necessary changes in the ontologies previously created. An alert is shown if the Medication Regimen Complexity Index is ≥40, if the Drug Burden Index is ≥1, or if there is a trigger based on an abnormal laboratory value. A total of 364 alerts were generated for 107 patients; 154 (42.3%) alerts were accepted. Conclusions: We proposed an ontology-based approach to provide support for improving medication appropriateness in older patients with multimorbidity in a scalable, sustainable, and reusable way. The chronic patient domain was built based on our previous research, reusing the existing framework. OntoPharma has been implemented in clinical practice and generates alerts, considering the following use cases: medication regimen complexity, anticholinergic and sedative drug burden, and the presence of triggers for identifying possible adverse events.

Drug-Related Problems in Elderly Patients Attended to by Emergency Services.

The progressive aging and comorbidities of the population have led to an increase in the number of patients with polypharmacy attended to in the emergency department. Drug-related problems (DRPs) have become a major cause of admission to these units, as well as a high rate of short-term readmissions. Anticoagulants, antibiotics, antidiabetics, and opioids have been shown to be the most common drugs involved in this issue. Inappropriate polypharmacy has been pointed out as one of the major causes of these emergency visits. Different ways of conducting chronic medication reviews at discharge, primary care coordination, and phone contact with patients at discharge have been shown to reduce new hospitalizations and new emergency room visits due to DRPs, and they are key elements for improving the quality of care provided by emergency services.

Factors Associated with Medication Non-Adherence among Patients with Multimorbidity and Polypharmacy Admitted to an Intermediate Care Center.

Identifying determinants of medication non-adherence in patients with multimorbidity would provide a step forward in developing patient-centered strategies to optimize their care. Medication appropriateness has been proposed to play a major role in medication non-adherence, reinforcing the importance of interdisciplinary medication review. This study examines factors associated with medication non-adherence among older patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy. A cross-sectional study of non-institutionalized patients aged ≥65 years with ≥2 chronic conditions and ≥5 long-term medications admitted to an intermediate care center was performed. Ninety-three patients were included (mean age 83.0 ± 6.1 years). The prevalence of non-adherence based on patients' multiple discretized proportion of days covered was 79.6% (n = 74). According to multivariable analyses, individuals with a suboptimal self-report adherence (by using the Spanish-version Adherence to Refills and Medications Scale) were more likely to be non-adherent to medications (OR = 8.99, 95% CI 2.80-28.84, p < 0.001). Having ≥3 potentially inappropriate prescribing (OR = 3.90, 95% CI 0.95-15.99, p = 0.059) was barely below the level of significance. These two factors seem to capture most of the non-adherence determinants identified in bivariate analyses, including medication burden, medication appropriateness and patients' experiences related to medication management. Thus, the relationship between patients' self-reported adherence and medication appropriateness provides a basis to implement targeted strategies to improve effective prescribing in patients with multimorbidity.

[Prevalence of prescription of anticholinergic/sedative burden drugs among older people with dementia living in nursing homes]. / Prevalencia de prescripción de fármacos con carga anticolinérgica/sedante en adultos mayores institucionalizados con demencia.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Dementia is one of the most frequent diseases in the elderly, being its prevalence of up to 64% in institutionalized people. In this population, in addition to antidementia drugs, it is common to prescribe drugs with anticholinergic/sedative burden that, due to their adverse effects, could worsen their functionality and cognitive status. The objective is to estimate the prevalence of the use of drugs with anticholinergic/ sedative burden in institutionalized older adults with dementia and to assess the associated factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study developed in older with dementia living in nursing homes. The prevalence of prescription of anticholinergic/sedative drugs was estimated according to the Drug Burden Index (DBI). A comparative analysis of the DBI score was performed between different types of dementia as well as among various factors and according to the anticholinergic/sedative risk, establishing as a cut-off point of DBI≥1 (high anticholinergic/sedative risk). RESULTS: 178 residents were included. 83.7% had some drug with anticholinergic/sedative burden according to DBI. 50% had a DBI≥1 score. Residents with vascular dementia had a mean DBI of 1.34 (SD 0.84), a significantly higher score than residents with Alzheimer's disease (0.41, 95% CI 0.04-0.78).). Likewise, a higher DBI was associated with more polypharmacy (3.36; 95% CI 2.64-4.08), more falls, hospital admissions and emergency room visits (P<.05). CONCLUSIONS: Polypharmacy and prescription of anticholinergic/sedative drugs is frequent among institutionalized older adults with dementia, finding an association between DBI, falls and hospital admissions or emergency department visits. Therefore, it is necessary to propose interdisciplinary pharmacotherapeutic optimization strategies.

Selection of interventions aimed at improving medication adherence in patients with multimorbidity.

OBJECTIVES: To select interventions aimed at improving medication adherence in patients with multimorbidity by means of a standardised methodology. METHODS: A modified Delphi methodology was used to reach consensus. Interventions that had demonstrated their efficacy in improving medication adherence in patients with multimorbidity or in similar populations were identified from a literature search of several databases (PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Center for Reviews and Dissemination, and Web of Science). 11 experts in medication adherence and/or chronic disease scored the selected interventions for appropriateness according to three criteria: strength of the evidence that supported each intervention, usefulness in patients with multimorbidity, and feasibility of implementation in clinical practice. The final set of interventions was selected according to appropriateness and agreement based on the Delphi methodology. RESULTS: 566 articles were retrieved in the literature search. Nine systematic reviews were included. 33 interventions were initially selected for evaluation by the panellists. Consensus after two Delphi rounds was reached on 16 interventions. Five interventions were categorized as educational, six as behavioural and five were related to other aspects of interest. CONCLUSIONS: The interventions selected following a comprehensive and standardized methodology, could be used to improve medication adherence in patients with multimorbidity.

Medication regimen complexity on hospital admission in patients with advanced chronic conditions in need of palliative care.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate characteristics of the medication complexity, risk factors associated with high medication complexity and their clinical consequences in patients with advanced chronic conditions. METHODS: A 10-month cross-sectional study was performed in an acute-hospital care Geriatric Unit. Patients with advanced chronic conditions were identified by the NECPAL test. Medication complexity was established using the Medication Regimen Complexity Index (MRCI) tool. Demographic, pharmacological and clinical patient data were collected with the objective of determining risk factors related to high medication complexity. Measured clinical outcomes were hospital length of stay, destination on hospital discharge, in-hospital mortality and 2-year survival. RESULTS: Two hundred and thirty-five patients (mean age 86.8, SD 5.37; 65.5% female) were recruited. MRCI's mean score was 38 points (SD 16.54, rank: 2.00-98.50), with 57.9% of patients with high medication complexity (MRCI >35 points).

Prevalence, risk factors and adverse outcomes of anticholinergic burden in patients with advanced chronic conditions at hospital admission.

AIM: To evaluate the anticholinergic burden (ACB), the risk factors associated with its onset and the clinical consequences for patients with advanced chronic conditions. METHODS: A 10-month cross-sectional study was carried out in an acute hospital care geriatric unit. Patients with advanced chronic conditions were identified by the NECessity of PALliative care (NECPAL) test. The ACB was established using the Anticholinergic Drug Scale and Drug Burden Index (DBI) tools. Demographic, pharmacological and clinical patient data were collected with the objective of determining risk factors related to ACB. Measured clinical outcomes were the presence of acute confusional state, bone fractures, length of stay, mortality and 12-month survival rate. RESULTS: A total of 235 patients were recruited (mean age 86.80 years, SD 5.37 years; 65.50% women), and 82.10% (DBI) and 93.6% (Anticholinergic Drug Scale) of the patients were treated with anticholinergic medications. Excessive polypharmacy (≥10 drugs) was identified as a risk factor for the presence of anticholinergic medication (Anticholinergic Drug Scale: OR 6.26, 95% CI 1.38-28.42; DBI: OR 3.44, 95% CI 1.60-7.38). High anticholinergic burden (by DBI >2 points) was an independent risk factor for the presence of acute confusional state on hospital admission (OR 2.98, 95% CI 1.04-8.50). However, ACB was not related to bone fractures on admission, length of stay, mortality or survival. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with advanced chronic conditions are frequently treated with anticholinergic drugs, with excessive polypharmacy as a risk factor. Anticholinergic drugs are a risk factor for the presence of acute confusional state on hospital admission, but have no other effect in terms of morbimortality. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; 18: 1159-1165.

Patient-Centered Prescription Model to improve therapeutic adherence in patients with multimorbidity.

To date, interventions to improve medication adherence in patients with multimorbidity have shown modest and inconsistent efficacy among  available studies. Thereby, we should define new approaches aimed at improving medication adherence tailored to effective prescribing, with a multidisciplinary approach and patient-centered.In this regard, the Patient-Centered Prescription Model has shown its usefulness on improving appropriateness of drug treatments in patients with clinical complexity. For that, this strategy addresses the following four steps: 1) Patient-Centered assessment; 2) Diagnosis-Centered assessment; 3) Medication-Centered assessment; and 4) Therapeutic Plan.We propose through a clinical case an adaptation of the Patient-Centered Prescription Model to enhance both appropriateness and medication adherence in patients with multimorbidity. To this end, we have  included on its first step the Spanish version of a cross-culturally adapted scale  for the multidimensional assessment of medication adherence. Furthermore, we suggest a set of interventions to be applied in the three remaining steps of  the model. These interventions were firstly identified by an overview of systematic reviews and then selected by a panel of experts based on Delphi methodology.All of these elements have been considered appropriate in patients with multimorbidity according to three criteria: strength of their supporting  evidence, usefulness in the target population and feasibility of implementation in clinical practice.The proposed approach intends to lay the foundations for an innovative way in  tackling medication adherence in patients with multimorbidity.

Según los estudios disponibles, la eficacia de las intervenciones para mejorar la  adherencia terapéutica en pacientes con multimorbilidad es limitada e  inconsistente; por ello, debemos definir nuevos modelos de intervención que  incorporen como elementos clave la atención centrada en la persona, el abordaje interdisciplinar y la orientación a la mejora de la adecuación terapéutica.En este sentido, el Modelo de Prescripción Centrado en la Persona ha  demostrado su capacidad para adecuar la prescripción a las necesidades de  pacientes con complejidad clínica. Para ello, incorpora cuatro etapas consecutivas: 1) valoración centrada en el paciente; 2) valoración  centrada en el diagnóstico; 3) valoración centrada en el fármaco, y 4) propuesta de plan terapéutico.Proponemos, a través de un caso práctico, una adaptación del Modelo de Prescripción Centrado en la Persona como estrategia para mejorar la  adherencia terapéutica. Para ello, en la primera etapa del modelo hemos  incorporado una herramienta para la valoración multidimensional de la  adherencia adaptada transculturalmente al español. Posteriormente,  proponemos un conjunto de intervenciones a aplicar en las tres etapas restantes del modelo. Dichas intervenciones han sido identificadas en un resumen de  revisiones sistemáticas y posteriormente seleccionadas mediante la metodología  Delphi. Todos estos elementos han sido considerados adecuados en pacientes  con multimorbilidad por la solidez de su evidencia, su utilidad potencial en la población diana y la factibilidad de su aplicación en la práctica clínica. La  aproximación propuesta pretende sentar las bases de un modelo de cambio respecto al abordaje de la adherencia en el paciente con multimorbilidad.

Potentially inappropriate medication in palliative care patients according to STOPP-Frail criteria.

BACKGROUND: Potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) are common in palliative care patients, but no specific tools have been used to determine these PIMs. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of PIMs according to specific tool 'STOPP-Frail', related factors with its existence and clinical consequences. METHODS: This is a post hoc analysis from a 10-month prospective cross-sectional study. Upon hospital admission in an acute geriatric unit (AGU), demographic and pharmacological data were collected to determine related associated factors. The main outcome was prevalence and type of PIMs (by STOPP-Frail criteria). Measured clinical outcomes were adverse drug events, length of stay, location upon discharge, in-hospital mortality and 1-year survival. RESULTS: Two hundred thirty-five patients (mean age 86.80; 65.50% women) were recruited. Overall, 67.2% of patients had ≥ 1 criterion (mainly 'drugs without clinical indication' due to alimentary tract and metabolism drugs). Related factors associated with PIMs according to STOPP-Frail criteria were moderate polypharmacy (OR 7.16 CI 95% 2.27-22.52) and excessive polypharmacy (OR 7.30 CI 95% 2.34-22.73), but not advanced age (OR 0.26 CI 95% 0.12-0.53) or previous hospitalisations (OR 0.61 CI 95% 0.48-0.79). There were no differences in clinical outcomes. CONCLUSION: PIMs according to STOPP-Frail are often used in palliative care patients. PIMs were associated with polypharmacy, but no related morbidity or mortality effects have been observed.

[Patient-centred prescription model to improve adequate prescription and therapeutic adherence in patients with multiple disorders]. / Modelo de prescripción centrado en la persona para mejorar la adecuación y adherencia terapéutica en los pacientes con multimorbilidad.

Patients with multiple disorders and on multiple medication are often associated with clinical complexity, defined as a situation of uncertainty conditioned by difficulties in establishing a situational diagnosis and decision-making. The patient-centred care approach in this population group seems to be one of the best therapeutic options. In this context, the preparation of an individualised therapeutic plan is the most relevant practical element, where the pharmacological plan maintains an important role. There has recently been a significant increase in knowledge in the area of adequacy of prescription and adherence. In this context, we must find a model must be found that incorporates this knowledge into clinical practice by the professionals. Person-centred prescription is a medication review model that includes different strategies in a single intervention. It is performed by a multidisciplinary team, and allows them to adapt the pharmacological plan of patients with clinical complexity.

Influence of treatment complexity on adherence and incidence of blips in HIV/HCV coinfected patients.

BACKGROUND: The addition of antihepatitis C therapy to highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfected patients leads to an increase in the treatment complexity that may result in decreased adherence. Blips, defined as intermittent episodes of detectable low-level HIV viremia, may be an indication of poor adherence to HAART. OBJECTIVES: To (a) determine the influence of adding anti-HCV therapy to HAART on complexity index, adherence, and incidence of blips and (b) determine complexity index and adherence in patient subgroups based on anti-HCV therapy. METHODS: We conducted a prospective 2-center observational study. HIV/HCV coinfected patients under antiretroviral treatment who started anti-HCV bi-therapy or triple therapy between January 2011 and December 2013 were included. Patients were excluded if they were virologically uncontrolled (HIV viral load greater than 50 copies RNA/mL) or if they had changed antiretroviral treatment in the 6 months prior to the introduction of anti-HCV therapy. Data were collected before and after the addition of anti-HCV therapy to HAART. The main variables were complexity index, incidence of blips, and adherence. The complexity index was based on a score that utilized the number of pills per day, dosing schedule, dosage form, and any specific instructions linked to use of the drug. Blips were defined as a detectable HIV-RNA level ( greater than 50 copies/mL but no more than 1,000 copies/mL) occurring between 2 negative assays. Medication adherence was assessed using electronic pharmacy refill records. The threshold for optimal adherence was defined at 95% and above. Differences in the variables collected were assessed before and after the addition of anti-HCV therapy to HAART.R ESULTS: A total of 66 patients were included in the study. Based on the complexity index, the median value before and after the addition of anti-HCV therapy to HAART was 4.2 (interquartile range [IQR] = 3.5-5.5) and 11.5 (IQR = 10.4-13.4), respectively. The median difference between both complexity indices was 6.9 (95% CI = 6.9-7, P less than 0.001). After introducing the anti-HCV therapy into HAART, the number of adherent patients decreased from 50 (75.8%) to 45 (68.2%, P greater than 0.05), and 12 (18.2%) patients presented blips (P less than 0.001). Subgroup analysis based on anti-HCV therapy showed that patients on boceprevir or telaprevir therapy had a higher complexity index, 16.8 (IQR = 6.0-18.4), compared with patients on bi-therapy anti-HCV, 11.3 (IQR = 10.3-12). The median difference was 6.0 (95% CI = 5.0-7.2, P less than 0.001). The number of adherent patients decreased only in patients on bi-therapy from 42 (79.2%) to 37 (69.8%, P greater than 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Adding anti-HCV therapy to antiretroviral treatment significantly increases treatment complexity and the incidence of blips. The introduction of anti-HCV therapy is also associated with a decrease in the number of adherent patients. The regimen complexity calculation may be useful for identifying patients who need more care from health care professionals or are at risk for failure to comply with treatment regimens.