Aged Care Facilities

A Residential Medication Management Review (RMMR) is a service for permanent residents of aged care homes, including veterans. It involves collaboration between a general practitioner and a pharmacist to review the medication management needs of a resident.

Medication Review Consultants involve Nurses in the process of RMMR. We enjoy and value a high level of support from nurses and care staff at all levels, and through experience both Care staff and Pharmacists have found that interaction in the RMMR process to be particularly valuable. At Medication Review Consultants we are passionate in achieving quality outcomes for the residents we are responsible for.

Our Residential Medication Management Review Service

What we do:

Establish policies and procedures for resident consent, access to information, the collection of data, collaboration and the delivery of the medication management service.

Assess the specific practice and educational needs of the facility in relation to medication use.

Deliver a seminar to care staff identifying their role in ensuring optimal medication management.

Hands on staff/carers at all levels are in a position to pick up changes in a resident that may be relevant to drug therapy and thus all care staff should be invited. The seminar focuses on general therapeutic care issues relevant to that facility.

Supply referenced information notes to explain the common clinical issues encountered, as well as care protocols and guidelines as appropriate.

Collect necessary information: medication, diagnoses, problem lists and resident and care staff concerns for all residents.

Meet with medical practitioners caring for facility residents to introduce the pharmacist and to brief them on the medication review process and address any concerns.

A written report, addressing medication issues relevant to specific residents and raised in consultation with nursing staff is provided to the facility and the resident’s GP.

Review all new residents, those vulnerable to adverse medication outcomes or referred by nurses or medical practitioners or requiring follow up based on previous concerns. A full review of each resident’s therapy is available routinely and at least annually.

Provide a series of free talks on a range of topics as agreed.

Liaise with medical practitioners as necessary to discuss their resident’s therapy. Attendance by the pharmacist to Medication Advisory Committee Meetings as required.

Provide telephone advice as required.

Provide audit data on the outcomes of the medication management process for QA and compliance purposes.

For further details on the services offered by Medication Review Consultants please contact us.

Benefits of Residential Medication Management Reviews (RMMR)

Benefits to resident and family RMMRs can enhance the quality of medical care provided to residents of aged care homes by optimising the therapeutic effectiveness and management of the residents’ medication regimens and minimising possible adverse effects.

Benefits to aged care homes

Good practice medication management in aged care homes includes the development of medication management plans for residents. The results of the RMMR should form the basis for developing a medication management plan for agreement with the resident and their carer, as appropriate. The assessments will identify the resident’s medical needs and provide important information, including diagnoses and problems, for planning individual care and medication management strategies.

Benefits to GPs

An RMMR provides an opportunity for GPs and pharmacists to assess medication-related information so as to identify and resolve any medication-related issues or needs.

Benefits to the community

Increased engagement of general practice with aged care can help prevent avoidable deterioration in the health and functioning of residents, and help reduce emergency department visits and hospital admissions. RMMRs and other related initiatives for aged care homes provide a more integrated approach to addressing current service gaps and greater incentive for GP involvement in aged care. These initiatives include Comprehensive Medical Assessments (CMA), aged care GP panel arrangements, and Enhanced Primary Care (EPC) multidisciplinary care planning and case conferencing.