Length of Initial Prescription at Hospital Discharge and Long-term Medication Adherence for Elderly Patients Post-Myocardial Infarction: An Interventional Study

The overarching goal of this study is to reduce the morbidity and mortality of post-MI patients through improved long-term cardiac medication adherence.

The specific objectives include: 1. Assess the impact on long-term cardiac medication adherence following the implementation of a standardized increase in discharge prescription length to 90-days with 3 repeats in post-MI patients as compared to education alone and usual care; 2. Assess the cost implications of the intervention as compared to usual care; 3. Compare clinical outcomes between longer (>60 days) versus shorter prescription durations; 4. Collect baseline information to inform a multi-centre interventional study (i.e., simple monthly proportions of 1-year adherence by hospitals in Ontario).

Intervention:1. Policy Change implementing a standardized discharge prescription form available on all wards where MI patients are managed at HHS that includes a 90-day supply with 3 repeats for all cardiac medications, and education alone provided at SJH and NHS 2. Educational materials will be disseminated to all involved health care providers (e.g., physicians, residents, nurses) at the start of the intervention period to ensure the new discharge prescriptions are understood and used. Furthermore, extensive outreach to community pharmacies in LHIN IV will be undertaken with help from Ontario Pharmacists' Association (OPA) and Ontario Pharmacy Evidence Network (OPEN).

3. Education (e.g., emails, mail-outs, site visits) will recur every 3-4 months during the intervention period. Furthermore, monthly monitoring will ensure standardized prescription forms and point of care reminders are implemented at all intervention sites.

The intervention group will be exposed to this intervention post-MI and include all eligible patients at HHS/SJH/NHS in the 6-months post-intervention implementation.