Bridging the knowledge gap: Med Wise Rx helps older adults navigate comprehensive medication reviews

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Pharmacy
• Medication Safety
• Health Literacy

Background:

• Older adults face high risks of medication-related problems.
• Comprehensive Medication Reviews (CMR) are underutilized despite Medicare reimbursement.
• The Med Wise Rx™ program aims to boost older adults' engagement with CMR services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the Med Wise Rx™ training's effectiveness in enhancing older adults' comprehension of CMRs.
• To assess participants' understanding of CMR benefits and their self-efficacy in seeking these services.

Main Methods:

• A waitlist control trial involved virtual sessions on medication safety and communication skills.
• Participants engaged with tools including practice questions and communication strategy modeling.
• Understanding of CMRs was assessed via open-ended survey questions at baseline, 8 weeks, and 6 months, analyzed using deductive content analysis.

Main Results:

• Baseline understanding of CMRs was low (21%).
• Post-training, 86% understood CMR components at 8 weeks, rising to 93% at 6 months.
• Knowledge about CMR processes and benefits was retained at the 6-month follow-up.

Conclusions:

• Med Wise Rx™ effectively enhanced older adults' ability to articulate what a CMR is and its advantages.
• Further research will explore the link between improved understanding and actual CMR service utilization.