Impact of Audit and Feedback Using Three Medications-Related Quality Indicators in Residential Aged Care Communities.
Saly Rashed, Stephanie Gibson, Mazdak Zamani, Leonie Picton, J Simon Bell
Aims
To investigate whether audit and feedback using medication indicators coincides with a change in prevalence of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), antipsychotics and complex medication regimens (>4 daily administration times) in residential aged care communities; and to investigate impact of community size, location and speciality.
Methods
A retrospective analysis of quarterly medication indicator data from 26 communities in Western Victoria from July 2019 to March 2020. Initial implementation of the medication indicators in 2018 was supported by 5-minute explanatory videos and one-off face-to-face education workshops. Correlations between medication prevalence at three time-points were assessed using Pearson’s correlation coefficients.
Results
Median PPI prevalence was 10.9% higher in quarter 2 and 9.7% higher in quarter 3 compared to quarter 1 (r= 0.860; p=0.365). Median antipsychotic prevalence was 1.4% higher in quarter 2 and 5.3% higher in quarter 3 compared to quarter 1 (r=0.836; p=0.360). The median percentage of residents with complex regimens was 7.9% lower in quarters 2 and 3 compared to quarter 1 (r=0.456; p=0.545). Change in medication prevalence was not associated with the size, location or specialty of the aged care community.
Conclusion
Reporting of medication indicators did not coincide with a significant change in medication prevalence. Community size, location and speciality were not associated with change in medication prevalence. It is unclear to what extent the results might reflect inconsistent indicator collection and reporting. Nevertheless, the results suggest the importance of embedding audit and feedback into the routine continuous quality improvement initiatives.