Abstract
Background: Advances in the clinical management of diseases have been accompanied by increasing complexity of treatment regimens. The complexity of medication regimen is of concern for patients as well as doctors as it may adversely affect patient compliance and treatment outcomes. It may result in medication errors, increased utilization of health resources owing to a reduction in treatment effectiveness, and increased risk of therapeutic failure. Objective: This study aimed to assess the complexity of medication regimen prescribed to patients on hospital discharge using the medication regimen complexity index (MRCI). Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted. Hospital discharge prescriptions written for patients discharged from the General Medicine wards of a tertiary care teaching hospital in South India were scored for their complexity using MRCI. The correlation of age and gender with the MRCI scores was also assessed. Patients ≥60 years of age were considered elderly. Results: The median MRCI score for 563 prescriptions studied was 14 (Interquartile range, 9−21). Elderly patients received a significantly more complex medication regimen compared with younger patients (p < 0.001) at the time of hospital discharge. Gender variation was seen with higher MRCI scores in females, but this was not statistically significant in the elderly group. Conclusion: MRCI scores are significantly high in elderly patients at the time of hospital discharge. Although a strong correlation is seen between the number of medications and the MRCI score, the latter helps to distinguish regimen complexity between prescriptions with the same number of medications.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 116-121 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Current Drug Safety |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 01-01-2019 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Toxicology
- Pharmacology
- Pharmacology (medical)
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Evaluation of hospital discharge prescriptions in the elderly and younger adults using the medication regimen complexity index. / Balodiya, Sujit; Kamath, Ashwin.
In: Current Drug Safety, Vol. 14, No. 2, 01.01.2019, p. 116-121.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluation of hospital discharge prescriptions in the elderly and younger adults using the medication regimen complexity index
AU - Balodiya, Sujit
AU - Kamath, Ashwin
PY - 2019/1/1
Y1 - 2019/1/1
N2 - Background: Advances in the clinical management of diseases have been accompanied by increasing complexity of treatment regimens. The complexity of medication regimen is of concern for patients as well as doctors as it may adversely affect patient compliance and treatment outcomes. It may result in medication errors, increased utilization of health resources owing to a reduction in treatment effectiveness, and increased risk of therapeutic failure. Objective: This study aimed to assess the complexity of medication regimen prescribed to patients on hospital discharge using the medication regimen complexity index (MRCI). Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted. Hospital discharge prescriptions written for patients discharged from the General Medicine wards of a tertiary care teaching hospital in South India were scored for their complexity using MRCI. The correlation of age and gender with the MRCI scores was also assessed. Patients ≥60 years of age were considered elderly. Results: The median MRCI score for 563 prescriptions studied was 14 (Interquartile range, 9−21). Elderly patients received a significantly more complex medication regimen compared with younger patients (p < 0.001) at the time of hospital discharge. Gender variation was seen with higher MRCI scores in females, but this was not statistically significant in the elderly group. Conclusion: MRCI scores are significantly high in elderly patients at the time of hospital discharge. Although a strong correlation is seen between the number of medications and the MRCI score, the latter helps to distinguish regimen complexity between prescriptions with the same number of medications.
AB - Background: Advances in the clinical management of diseases have been accompanied by increasing complexity of treatment regimens. The complexity of medication regimen is of concern for patients as well as doctors as it may adversely affect patient compliance and treatment outcomes. It may result in medication errors, increased utilization of health resources owing to a reduction in treatment effectiveness, and increased risk of therapeutic failure. Objective: This study aimed to assess the complexity of medication regimen prescribed to patients on hospital discharge using the medication regimen complexity index (MRCI). Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted. Hospital discharge prescriptions written for patients discharged from the General Medicine wards of a tertiary care teaching hospital in South India were scored for their complexity using MRCI. The correlation of age and gender with the MRCI scores was also assessed. Patients ≥60 years of age were considered elderly. Results: The median MRCI score for 563 prescriptions studied was 14 (Interquartile range, 9−21). Elderly patients received a significantly more complex medication regimen compared with younger patients (p < 0.001) at the time of hospital discharge. Gender variation was seen with higher MRCI scores in females, but this was not statistically significant in the elderly group. Conclusion: MRCI scores are significantly high in elderly patients at the time of hospital discharge. Although a strong correlation is seen between the number of medications and the MRCI score, the latter helps to distinguish regimen complexity between prescriptions with the same number of medications.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85066729769&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85066729769&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2174/1574886314666181207105118
DO - 10.2174/1574886314666181207105118
M3 - Article
VL - 14
SP - 116
EP - 121
JO - Current Drug Safety
JF - Current Drug Safety
SN - 1574-8863
IS - 2
ER -