Improving the Management of Patients' Own Medications in Hospitalized Older Adults: A Multidisciplinary Before-And-After Intervention Study.
- 1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Hangzhou Wuyunshan Hospital (Hangzhou Institute of Health Promotion), Hangzhou, 310008, People's Republic of China.
- 2Department of Geriatrics, Hangzhou Wuyunshan Hospital (Hangzhou Institute of Health Promotion), Hangzhou, 310008, People's Republic of China.
- 3Department of Pharmacy, Hangzhou Wuyunshan Hospital (Hangzhou Institute of Health Promotion), Hangzhou, 310008, People's Republic of China.
Abstract
Purpose
Patients' own medications (POMs) may pose safety risks when their use is not integrated into hospital medication-management processes. This study evaluated a multidisciplinary intervention for POM management in hospitalized older adults.Patients and methods
This single-center before-and-after intervention study was conducted from March 2024 to February 2025. The intervention comprised five coordinated components: physician-led assessment, authorization, order entry, guidance, and monitoring; pharmacist-led verification, order review, and record maintenance; nurse-led verification, supervision, and education using color-coded labels (green, approved for use; red, not to be used; yellow, awaiting confirmation); IT-led integration of POM information into the electronic medication administration record; and procurement-led upgrades to storage equipment. The primary outcome was the incidence rate of POM-related medication errors per 1000 patient-days. Secondary outcomes were correct POM documentation within 24 hours of admission and correct POM storage at the pre-discharge assessment.Results
The study included 162 patients, with 81 in each period. Before the intervention, 174 POM-related medication errors occurred over 1628 patient-days (106.9 per 1000 patient-days), compared with 29 errors over 1581 patient-days after the intervention (18.3 per 1000 patient-days). The incidence rate ratio was 0.172 (95% CI, 0.116-0.254; P<0.001), representing an 82.8% reduction. Correct POM documentation within 24 hours increased from 53.1% (43/81) to 92.6% (75/81; χ ²=31.951, P<0.001; OR=11.047, 95% CI, 4.319-28.253; RR=1.744, 95% CI, 1.408-2.160). Correct POM storage at the pre-discharge assessment increased from 32.1% (26/81) to 84.0% (68/81; χ ²=44.707, P<0.001).Conclusion
The intervention was associated with improvements in all three measured POM outcomes at this center. Multicenter studies with longer follow-up are needed to assess generalizability and sustainability.
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BibTeX
@article{chen2026improving,
title = {{Improving the Management of Patients' Own Medications in Hospitalized Older Adults: A Multidisciplinary Before-And-After Intervention Study.}},
author = {Xiaoyan Chen and Lin Liu and Jie Zhang and Linghua Zheng and Xiaona Chen and Mingxia Zhang},
journal = {Patient preference and adherence},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.2147/ppa.s642041},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42898908},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Improving the Management of Patients' Own Medications in Hospitalized Older Adults: A Multidisciplinary Before-And-After Intervention Study.
AU - Xiaoyan Chen
AU - Lin Liu
AU - Jie Zhang
AU - Linghua Zheng
AU - Xiaona Chen
AU - Mingxia Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
JO - Patient preference and adherence
DO - 10.2147/ppa.s642041
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42898908
AB - Purpose Patients' own medications (POMs) may pose safety risks when their use is not integrated into hospital medication-management processes. This study evaluated a multidisciplinary intervention for POM management in hospitalized older adults.Patients and methods This single-center before-and-after intervention study was conducted from March 2024 to February 2025. The intervention comprised five coordinated components: physician-led assessment, authorization, order entry, guidance, and monitoring; pharmacist-led verification, order review, and record maintenance; nurse-led verification, supervision, and education using color-coded labels (green, approved for use; red, not to be used; yellow, awaiting confirmation); IT-led integration of POM information into the electronic medication administration record; and procurement-led upgrades to storage equipment. The primary outcome was the incidence rate of POM-related medication errors per 1000 patient-days. Secondary outcomes were correct POM documentation within 24 hours of admission and correct POM storage at the pre-discharge assessment.Results The study included 162 patients, with 81 in each period. Before the intervention, 174 POM-related medication errors occurred over 1628 patient-days (106.9 per 1000 patient-days), compared with 29 errors over 1581 patient-days after the intervention (18.3 per 1000 patient-days). The incidence rate ratio was 0.172 (95% CI, 0.116-0.254; P<0.001), representing an 82.8% reduction. Correct POM documentation within 24 hours increased from 53.1% (43/81) to 92.6% (75/81; χ ²=31.951, P<0.001; OR=11.047, 95% CI, 4.319-28.253; RR=1.744, 95% CI, 1.408-2.160). Correct POM storage at the pre-discharge assessment increased from 32.1% (26/81) to 84.0% (68/81; χ ²=44.707, P<0.001).Conclusion The intervention was associated with improvements in all three measured POM outcomes at this center. Multicenter studies with longer follow-up are needed to assess generalizability and sustainability.
SN - 1177-889X
ER -