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Medication Handoffs as an LTC Provider

By January 27, 2021 August 31st, 2021 No Comments
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT MANAGING MEDICATION HANDOFFS AS AN LTC PROVIDER
A white paper by ICS’ Dana Strauss, SRX’s Paula Agoglia, and Dr. Ken Donovan from Yale New Haven Health System’s Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, explores how long-term care operators can streamline the complicated process of medication management across settings through a combination of technology and preparation.

New White Paper by ICS’ Dana Strauss

Our own Dana Strauss, VP of Partner Engagement, recently teamed up with SRX’s Senior Vice President of Business Development Paula Agoglia and Dr. Ken Donovan with Lawrence + Memorial Hospital for a white paper in Skilled Nursing News (SNN) about “Managing Medication Handoffs.”

January 27, 2021

These experts have well over 75 years of combined experience in the long-term care (LTC) industry, especially in post-acute care settings. 

Strauss is a Doctor of Physical Therapy whose clinical career experience and business development background influenced her career shift to value-based care programs. She believes the healthcare system can do more to meet everyone’s needs better. Her passion is advocating for optimal patient experiences and outcomes wherever an individual is on the spectrum of wellness, illness, injury, or chronic-care. 

Agoglia, a pharmacist, uses her expertise at SRX to help LTC and skilled nursing operators navigate the endless challenges surrounding costs related to pharmacy spend. Her role at SRX is to help their customers take control of that significant cost center through SRX’s automated technology. 

Donovan is the Chairman of Medicine at Yale New Haven Health System’s Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London, CT, specializing in internal medicine, palliative care, and skilled nursing facility patient care.

LTC facilities have suffered a blow during COVID-19, but there is also an opportunity to right the ship. The white paper explores how operators can streamline the complicated process of medication management across settings through a combination of technology and preparation to provide better outcomes for patients, particularly during transitions. 

“Even in a tightly managed transition to home from the hospital or SNF, if the community provider prefers them to be on the medication they were on prior to the hospital admission, they may change it back in the first week or two they are home,” Strauss said. “Here again is the potential for a medication error. In home health, it’s common for the clinician visiting the patient to find that a patient is inadvertently taking, for example, both the beta blocker that the hospital or SNF prescribed and the beta blocker that they were on prior or that their community provider switched them back to after they returned home. This example could lead to a dangerous drop in BP.”

A scenario like this could lead to rehospitalization. So how do you make the most out of handoffs? 

In the white paper, Strauss and Agoglia specifically discuss: 

  • The challenge of care transitions: How SNFs can increase communication to improve outcomes
  • Medication mismanagement: What SNFs can do to help patients in need
  • High- and low-tech solutions: Tips for improving medication handoffs
  • Investing for the future
READ THE WHITEPAPER

ICS helps organizations improve community care coordination and drive the transformation to value-based care. Learn more about how ICS delivers results for organizations by putting patients first. Call us today: 860-622-7645. 

SRX is a data-driven technology platform for skilled nursing and long-term care facilities. Their technology automates all areas related to pharmacy spend, including rebates, prescription costs, drug utilization, and reconciliation and reporting. Learn more at srx-tech.com.

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