Identifying adverse medication events in the ED

Around one in every nine acute elderly presentations to the Caboolture Hospital Emergency Department are related to a medication issue or a medication adverse event.

Caboolture Hospital Emergency Department’s Dr Sean Clark said elderly patients with adverse medication events often presented to the hospital with non-specific symptoms such as dizziness, falls and drowsiness.

“In someone who may have complex medical problems, it can often be difficult to identify early that the underlying issue may be medication related in a busy ED environment,” Dr Clark said.

“As a result, we are piloting a process to quickly identify patients at risk of medication related adverse events who present to our ED.
“We are also utilising existing community resources, including local pharmacists, to undertake a more detailed medication review which hopefully improves the wellbeing of elderly in the community.”

The pilot project at Caboolture has successfully attracted the support of a Metro North Support, Explore, Excel, Deliver (SEED) innovation funding program grant.

Dr Clark said the project was also part of his studies under the Graduate Certificate in Health Service Innovation, a partnership between Metro North and AusHSI.

“The certificate will allow me to maximise the impact of the work I do in the Emergency Department and acute care setting,” he said.

“I hope to better select, plan and execute change that is valued by the organisation and meaningful to the people I work with and the patients I look after.”