Importance of Safe Medication Use for Individuals Suffering from Parkinson's Disease
In Coffs Harbour Hospital, a team of clinicians led by Vince Carroll, a Parkinson's Clinical Nurse Consultant, embarked on an award-winning project to improve medication management and patient safety for individuals diagnosed with Parkinson's. The collaborative initiative with Jess Andrews, a pharmacist, and Kirsten Deutschmann, an occupational therapist, focused on specific interventions that addressed medication-related barriers in this vulnerable patient group.
With Parkinson's patient Michael Ortiz personally affected by delayed medication administration during hospital stays, the team identified that only 44 percent of Parkinson's patients received their medications on time each year. Delayed medications can exacerbate symptoms such as tremors, rigidity, confusion, and agitation. Targeted strategies to improve timely dosing became crucial to enhancing patient care and recovery.
Key interventions implemented during the project included individualized medication plans, staff education, multidisciplinary collaboration, and the use of Parkinson's medication guidelines and alerts. By aligning medication regimens with each patient's specific requirements, implementing hospital protocols, and fostering communication among healthcare professionals, the team aimed to minimize medication errors.
Results showed significant improvements in medication administration, reduced average hospital stays for Parkinson's patients, and better access to the correct medications. Furthermore, the project led to improved teamwork and consumer satisfaction. Essential learnings from the initiative have been incorporated into the Parkinson's education module on the NSW Government Health Education and Training online platform and played a role in a research collaboration between Parkinson's NSW, the Mid North Coast Local Health District, and Charles Sturt University.
Simple yet effective changes, such as moving medications to easily accessible locations within the Emergency Department, also contributed to the project's success. These changes required a cultural shift in hospital practices, demonstrating that even small modifications can have a significant impact on patient care.
In addition to the project's strong outcomes, both Michael Ortiz and Vince Carroll have published articles on Parkinson's medication management in hospitals. Ortiz's paper, titled "On time - every time," and Carroll's "Purposeful collaboration: Enriching lives for people with Parkinson's disease" provide further insights into the team's innovative approaches to medication management.
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