Medication Education Pilot Program for Heart Transplant Patients

Abstract

Purpose As a high volume solid organ transplant center, we implemented a medication education didactic (MED) pilot program as a quality improvement initiative to enhance patient knowledge, increase patient and provider engagement, reduce medication errors, and identify target patient populations for more intense education interventions. Methods After reviewing our current practice of medication education, we initiated a MED program incorporating auditory, visual and kinesthetic teaching materials and enrolled 31 patients. Pharmacist-led educational interventions included a sample discharge medication list, medication flashcards, and a pre and post teaching assessment. Provider interventions included implementation of virtual rounding, coordinated discharge medication handoff between multidisciplinary staff, and creation of patient education videos. Results Our primary outcome analyzed patients’ pre and post education assessment scores, with a mean pretest score of 55.11 + 15.523 and a mean posttest score of 90.46 + 10.167. Post test scores comparing English versus non-native English speakers were 93.32% and 75.94%, respectively. To assess patient and provider engagement, we administered surveys to staff and a cohort of patients. After MED program, 93.33% of patients reported feeling moderately to extremely knowledgeable about their medications. 70% of staff observed a positive change in provider engagement and 90% reported that new virtual rounding has been at least moderately beneficial. Chart reviews for each patient demonstrated no recorded medication errors in their first 30-days post discharge. Conclusion Our study suggests intensive teaching from a dedicated pharmacist greatly increases patient medication knowledge. We identified non-native English-speakers would benefit from more intensive education sessions prior to discharge and are developing additional translated written materials and videos. Our initial data also suggests the MED program to be a highly effective method for improving patient outcomes and quality of care. Further research is ongoing to fully characterize the benefits of MED program implementation. Due to the overwhelming success of this pilot study, MED program initiatives have expanded across our institution's solid organ transplant programs.