Polypharmacy and continuity of care: medicines optimisation in the era of multidisciplinary teams

Article Health Care Sciences & Services

Negotiating the polypharmacy paradox: a video-reflexive ethnography study of polypharmacy and its practices in primary care

Deborah Swinglehurst et al.

Summary: This study used video-reflexive ethnography to investigate the importance of medication reviews in addressing polypharmacy. The findings show that clinicians often overlook the biomedical aspects of prescribing and instead focus on the emotional and relational challenges of polypharmacy. The study also highlights the need for small, incremental changes in medication reviews and emphasizes the importance of continuity in the clinician-patient relationship.

BMJ QUALITY & SAFETY (2023)

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Article Health Care Sciences & Services

Good working relationships: how healthcare system proximity influences trust between healthcare workers

Bryn L. Sutherland et al.

Summary: Trust between healthcare workers is built over time through iterative cycles of communication and working together to coordinate care for shared patients. Proximal healthcare workers have more options for interactions compared to distributed workers, making it easier for them to build trust. Distributed healthcare workers find it more challenging to develop trusting relationships and rely heavily on individual initiative. Effective tools to support trust between distributed healthcare workers are lacking at the level of interprofessional collaborations, teams, or broader healthcare systems. Future efforts should focus on fostering trust in distributed interprofessional collaborations and teams.

JOURNAL OF INTERPROFESSIONAL CARE (2022)

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Article Health Care Sciences & Services

Deprescribing medicines in older people living with multimorbidity and polypharmacy: the TAILOR evidence synthesis

Joanne Reeve et al.

Summary: This article presents the background, objectives, data sources, and research methods of the TAILOR medication synthesis. The results of the study indicate that deprescribing in older people living with multimorbidity and polypharmacy requires a structured approach that considers individual needs and circumstances. Additionally, integrating patient-centred and contextual factors into practice models is crucial for best practice.

HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT (2022)

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Review Pharmacology & Pharmacy

Avoiding harm: Tackling problematic polypharmacy through strengthening expert generalist practice

Joanne Reeve

Summary: Problematic polypharmacy is an increasing challenge in healthcare, where medication intended to improve patient health is now contributing to the problem. The practice of medicine itself has become a driving force behind this issue. Addressing this challenge requires a shift in thinking and the active incorporation of compromise into medication use.

BRITISH JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY (2021)

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Review Health Care Sciences & Services

A realist synthesis of pharmacist-conducted medication reviews in primary care after leaving hospital: what works for whom and why?

Karen Luetsch et al.

Summary: This study conducted a realist synthesis to identify key contexts and potential mechanisms of pharmacist medication reviews for patients leaving hospital in primary care settings. The findings suggest that successful medication reviews post-discharge are influenced by factors such as patient trust in healthcare professionals, post-discharge healthcare priorities, capacity to participate, perceptions of benefit and effort, and awareness of all involved. Collaborative efforts, clinical skills, and pharmacist responsibility for outcomes were linked to positive patient outcomes.

BMJ QUALITY & SAFETY (2021)

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Review Public, Environmental & Occupational Health