OptiMEDs Pilot Study

The interest in improving the pharmacotherapy of older adults in nursing homes is growing. The OptiMEDs interventions intends to support the decision of GPs regarding the pharmacotherapy of older adults through the combination of an electronic decision support tool (for the appraisal of potentially inappropriate medication use, anticholinergic use, or medications that can be de-prescribed in view of limited life expectancy) with focussed nurse observations (guided by a list of potential medication symptoms based on the individual medication chart of the resident), that will serve as the basis for a multidisciplinary medication review with the input of the GP, community pharmacist and nurse.

The aim of the OptiMEDs intervention is to obtain a more appropriate, safer, and more cost-effective pharmacotherapy in nursing home residents (e.g. less medication-related symptoms, less potentially inappropriate prescribing, a better quality of life, less hospitalisations, health care usage, or mortality)

Before investigating the effectiveness of the OptiMEDs intervention in a large pragmatic clinical trial comparing results of the intervention with standard of care, a pilot study will be undertaken. The aim of the pilot study is to test the feasibility and acceptability of all components of the OptiMEDs interventions in 3 nursing homes in Flanders, Belgium.

Inclusion criteria

for nursing homes:

• located in East Flanders
• size: > 100 beds
• mixed population of high care dependent and low care-dependent residents with and without dementia
• software of Care Solutions or Farmad is used for electronic handling of the medication chart
• the NH management as well as the responsible CRA and the community pharmacist who delivers the medication in the NH give their written agreement to participate

Inclusion criteria

for residents:

All residents of all wards of the participating nursing homes will be considered for inclusion if they meet the following inclusion criteria:

• aged 65 years or older
• mentally fit as well as cognitive impaired NH residents will be included after Informed Consent given by the resident (mentally capable residents) or his representative (cognitive impaired residents, defined as a sumscore of 6 or more on the KATZ items of disorientation in time and place).

Exclusion criteria

for residents

Residents will not be considered for inclusion if:

• they have a limited life-expectancy (less than 3 months, as judged and documented by the treating GP)
• they are residing in a short-stay / revalidation bed
• GP refused to have his NH residents included in this pilot