Free Home Medicines Reviews
A home medicines review (HMR) is an assessment that occurs between an accredited pharmacist and a patient within the patient’s home. The interview focuses on the drug/medication therapy for the patient and the aim is to maximise the potential benefits of the medications and minimise adverse effects. Other aims of a HMR include increasing patient and GP knowledge of medications.
An HMR will often involve general health and medication education to help patients improve their overall quality of life and benefits from their medications.
A referral from your GP is required to have an HMR initiated, your accredited pharmacist performs the HMR interview, and a full report is then delivered to your GP who will discuss the findings of the HMR at a subsequent appointment.
To arrange an HMR for yourself or a loved one, please speak with one of our receptionists who will be able to advise on the procedures involved in co-ordinating a visit by our Pharmacist, Kedar Pandya, in conjunction with your treating doctor.
HMR Aims & Objectives
Medication related hospital admission is a significant burden on Australia’s healthcare system, costing the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars per year. A substantial proportion of these medication related hospital admissions are preventable through better medication management.
The Home Medicines Review (HMR) programme aims to enhance the quality use of medicines and reduce the number of adverse medicines events through a comprehensive medication review conducted by an accredited pharmacist in the patient’s home.
The objectives of an HMR are to:
- Achieve safe, effective, and appropriate use of medicines by detecting and addressing medicine-related problems that interfere with desired patient outcomes;
- Improve the patient’s quality of life and health outcomes using a best practice approach, that involves cooperation between the general practitioner, pharmacist, other relevant health professionals and the patient (and where appropriate, their carer);
- Improve the patient’s, and health professional’s knowledge and understanding about medicines;
- Facilitate cooperative working relationships between members of the health care team in the interests of patient health and wellbeing; and,
- Provide medication information to the patient and other health care providers involved in the patient’s care.
HMR Patient Eligibility
In order for a patient to be eligible for an HMR, they must be a current Medicare/DVA cardholder, live in a community setting and be at risk of experiencing medication misadventure. The patient’s GP must confirm that there is an identifiable clinical need and the patient will benefit from an HMR. In-patients of public and private hospitals or day hospital facilities, care recipients in residential aged care facilities and permanent residents of a Government Funded Facility are ineligible for an HMR.
Eligible patients will normally display one or more of the following risk factors known to predispose people to medication related adverse events:
- Currently taking five or more regular medications
- Taking more than 12 doses of medication per day
- Significant changes made to medication treatment regimen in the last three months
- Medication with a narrow therapeutic index or medications requiring therapeutic monitoring
- Symptoms suggestive of an adverse drug reaction
- Sub-optimal response to treatment with medicines
- Suspected non-compliance or inability to manage medication related therapeutic devices
- Patients having difficulty managing their own medicines because of literacy or language difficulties, dexterity problems or impaired sight, confusion/dementia or other cognitive difficulties
- Patients attending a number of different doctors, both general practitioners and specialists, and
- Recent discharge from a facility / hospital (in the last four weeks)