Patients' handling of a standardized medication plan: a pilot study and method development

Area of Science:

• Health Sciences
• Patient Safety
• Medication Management

Background:

• The German Federal Ministry of Health introduced a standardized medication plan (MP) as part of the Action Plan for Medication Safety.
• Nationwide implementation requires testing the practical usability of the MP for patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an instrument for evaluating the usage of the standardized MP.
• To assess patients' ability to locate and comprehend crucial information on the MP.
• To gather patient opinions and suggestions on the MP template.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 40 adult patients in seven German community pharmacies.
• Interviews focused on locating and understanding information on a mock-up MP and patient opinions.
• Development of a new evaluation method (ET-MP) to quantify practical handling by rating filled pill boxes.

Main Results:

• Participants generally rated the MP positively, with 98% successfully locating important information.
• High correct interpretation rates for "1 hour before a meal" (98%) and "during a meal" (100%).
• Lower correct interpretation for "before a meal" (73%) and "after the meal" (15%).

Conclusions:

• The standardized MP is well-organized, enabling patients to find essential information.
• Minor but significant revisions to the MP template were informed by study findings.
• The ET-MP serves as an objective tool for assessing patients' practical medication handling skills based on the MP.