JAMA Network Open Paper: Emergency Department Programs to Support Medication Safety in Older Adults - A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network has published an Original Investigation paper, "Emergency Department Programs to Support Medication Safety in Older Adults - A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis."
The paper examines the effectiveness of emergency department (ED)-based interventions aimed at improving medication safety for adults aged 65 and older. Given that older adults are at high risk of medication-related harm due to polypharmacy and age-related physiological changes, the study systematically reviewed available research to assess whether ED programs can enhance medication safety outcomes. The analysis included multiple studies on various ED-based interventions, including medication reconciliation, pharmacist-led programs, clinical decision support tools and patient education initiatives.
Findings suggest that some of these programs effectively enhanced medication safety by reducing adverse drug events, discrepancies and inappropriate prescriptions. Additionally, certain interventions contributed to better adherence, fewer hospital readmissions and improved overall medication management. However, the effectiveness of these programs varied depending on their design, implementation and differences in healthcare systems.
These findings will inform the implementation of ED-based geriatric medication safety programs in updating the Geriatric ED Guidelines version 2.0.
Read the paper.
Learn more about the Geriatrics Emergency Department Collaborative (GEDC) and the Geriatrics Emergency Department Accreditation Program (GEDA).
Learn more about JAHF's co-support of GEDC and GEDA.
