Using Healthcare Redesign to Identify Medication Management Issues in Parkinson's Disease.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Improvement
• Health Services Research
• Patient Experience

Background:

• Parkinson's disease (PD) management relies heavily on pharmacotherapy.
• Patients with PD often have complex medication needs that are poorly managed during hospital stays.
• Hospital admissions present challenges for maintaining optimal medication regimens for PD patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify issues impacting medication management for PD patients during hospital admission.
• To understand the experiences of patients and healthcare staff regarding PD medication management.
• To inform healthcare redesign for improved medication practices in a tertiary hospital.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a mixed-methods approach within a healthcare redesign framework.
• Analyzed organizational data (n=222) including patient identification, medication reviews, and administration timing.
• Conducted online surveys and interviews with healthcare staff (n=81) and patients (n=18, n=16).

Main Results:

• Organizational data revealed issues with PD patient identification, medication reviews, prescribing, and administration timing.
• Staff surveys indicated a lack of PD medication knowledge and poor patient identification affected patient experience.
• Patient feedback suggested improvements in confidence regarding medication management and administration timing.

Conclusions:

• Ineffective hospital medication management for PD patients negatively impacts patient experience.
• Improvements in PD medication management are crucial for better patient outcomes and health service efficiency.