Implementation frameworks for polypharmacy management within healthcare organisations: a scoping review

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Pharmaceutical Policy
• Organizational Science

Background:

• Existing guidelines address individual polypharmacy management.
• A gap exists in organizational-level strategies and implementation frameworks for polypharmacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review literature on implementation frameworks for polypharmacy management.
• To identify organizational barriers and facilitators to implementing polypharmacy strategies.

Main Methods:

• Scoping review of English-language studies across all practice sectors.
• Searches of Medline, IPA, CINAHL, and Business Source Complete up to January 2022.
• Narrative synthesis of data from eight included studies.

Main Results:

• Eight papers were included, with six using qualitative methods.
• Key organizational barriers: poor culture, lack of urgency, resource issues, and communication gaps.
• Key organizational facilitators: government funding, patient safety regulations, national focus on older adult care, and coordinated efforts.

Conclusions:

• Limited research exists on organizational-level implementation frameworks for polypharmacy.
• Further work is needed to develop and refine these frameworks for effective organizational change in polypharmacy management.