Co-design of a Seamless Person-centered Intervention to Optimize Medication Use Across Healthcare Levels

Multiple long term conditions entails various needs for complex medication treatment, which is a huge clinical challenge considering medication interactions and disease-medication interactions. It might affect quality of life, increase medical costs and needs, and cause patients to live several years with disabilities and reduced functional level. Multiple long term conditions is an important public health problem, since it is increasingly more common as the population is getting older.

It is well documented that communication problems exist between sectors in the healthcare system and that it creates an area of risk. There are many transfers that could be associated with risk for errors, as when patients are discharged from the hospital and is being transferred to the next level of care. When patients are discharged from the hospital, there is a need for transfer of correct information regarding medications. Transition of care leads to risk for medication discrepancies for the patients. Medication discrepancies are common within primary care and studies show that up to 90% of patients have at least one medication discrepancy in their lists. Different interventions have been tested to reduce medication discrepancies, but the interventions do not eliminate the need for medication reconciliations.

Higher patient satisfaction have been associated with improved patient safety, clinical effectiveness, health outcomes, adherence and lower resource utilization. According to Norwegian legislation, patients or users have a right to participate in the implementation of healthcare services, e.g. the choice between available and justifiable forms of service, examination methods and treatment methods. Person-centered care (PCC) is a concept that shifts the focus away from the traditional biomedical model to personal choice by applying shared decision-making. PCC reduce symptom burden, enhance patient activation, reduce readmission rates and improve quality of life.

Obtaining knowledge about medication discrepancies and perceptions from patients, next of kin and healthcare personnel (HCP) after the patient's hospital discharge could contribute to a better success rate for future interventions and services. It is therefore of interest to investigate which factors that are of importance for a successful seamless person-centered intervention to optimize medication use across healthcare levels. To obtain knowledge about medication discrepancies and perceptions, the study will include both quantitative and qualitative methods, and be using a design thinking framework. The persons included will represent a wide selection with respect to, among other things, age, gender, socio-economic background, profession and diagnoses. The patients, next of kin and HCP will be included after written, informed consent.

The aim of the project is to obtain knowledge about how the investigators can strengthen patient's self-efficacy and improve the information flow when it comes to medications, in the transition between the healthcare levels. To do so, the investigators need to identify facilitators and barriers to achieve a seamless medication treatment based on the user's needs. The results will form a basis for a new, improved intervention, which follow patients during the hospital stay and further out in the primary healthcare. The aim of this project is divided into the following parts:

• Investigate the frequency and type of medication discrepancies between the medication list in the discharge summary and medication use after hospital stay, to identify risk factors for which and why medication discrepancies occur in patients with multiple long term conditions.
• Map the perceptions of patients with multiple long term conditions and next of kin regarding medication use, shared decision-making and their opinions about previously published interventions to improve medication use.
• Evaluate HCP's perceptions regarding elements in patients with multiple long term conditions care that works well, what HCP believe do not work, with particular emphasis on the treatment with medications and transfer of care. In addition, how this care could be improved especially with the new intervention in mind.
• Using design thinking framework to create prototypes for a new intervention

Overall hypothesis for the project: Knowledge about medication discrepancies and perceptions from patients, next of kin and HCP regarding barriers and facilitators for a seamless medication treatment can contribute to an improved efficacy and implementation of the new, improved intervention.