Abstract
Community pharmacies are an ideal setting to manage high-risk medications and screen older adults at risk for falls. Appropriate training and resources are needed to successfully implement services in this setting. The purpose of this paper is to identify the key training, tools, and resources to support implementation of fall prevention services. The service was implemented in a network of community pharmacies located in North Carolina. Pharmacies were provided with onboard and longitudinal training, and a project coach. A toolkit contained resources to collect medication information, identify high-risk medications, develop and share recommendations with prescribers, market the service, and educate patients. Project champions at each pharmacy received a nine-question, web-based survey (Qualtrics) to identify usefulness of the training and resources. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Thirty-one community pharmacies implemented the service. Twenty-three project champions (74%) completed the post-intervention survey. Comprehensive onboard training was rated as more useful than longitudinal training. Resources to identify high-risk medications, develop recommendations, and share recommendations with prescribers were considered most useful. By providing appropriate training and resources to support fall prevention services, community pharmacists can improve patient care as part of their routine workflow.
Highlights
Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injury for older adults, causing more than seven million injuries annually in the United States [1]
The purpose of this paper is to identify the key training, tools, and resources to support implementation of fall prevention services within the community pharmacy setting
Tools related to making clinical decisions are a valuable resource to improve pharmacist efficiency when developing recommendations. Another challenge experienced in this setting is communicating information externally to other members of the health care team
Summary
Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injury for older adults, causing more than seven million injuries annually in the United States [1]. Aging in Action National Prevention Strategy to address national priorities [4]. The expansion of effective fall prevention services was a key recommendation identified. A variety of factors can lead to an increased risk of falls in older adults, including the use of medications [5]. This includes high-risk medication use (primarily medications with sedative/hypnotic effects), as well as polypharmacy (use of ≥4 chronic medications) [5,6].
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