
Home Medicines Review
Brisbane North PHN invites General Practice to engage in continuous quality improvement activities for home medicines review.
A Home Medicines Review (HMR), also known as a Domiciliary Medication Management Review (DMMR), is a comprehensive review for patient’s living in the community. It is designed to optimise patient health outcomes through a person-centred, collaborative approach involving the patient, their GP, a credentialed pharmacist, and their regular community pharmacy.
The objectives of an HMR are to ensure the safe, effective, and appropriate use of medicines, prevent medication-related problems, and improve the patient’s quality of life through a coordinated team effort.
Step 1. Prepare your practice
- Discuss HMRs at practice meetings. You may like to invite your Brisbane North PHN Quality Improvement Engagement Officer.
- Provide education resources to all staff: HMR fact sheet for GPs
- Display patient brochures throughout practice
- Engage a local credentialed pharmacist
Step 2. Patient demographics- Identify patients who are eligible and would benefit from a home medicine review
- Identify patients eligible for an HMR using the Primary Sense High Complexity 4 & 5 report.
- Review current process for offering HMRs
- Add HMR to care plan and health assessment templates to prompt discussions
- Check patient has not had an HMR elsewhere via HPOS or My Health Record
Step 3. Offer HMRs to patient
Opportunistically offer HMR to eligible patients at existing appointment by using the Primary Sense –High Complexity 4&5 report – filter for existing appointments.
Offer HMR to all eligible patients at Care Plan appointments.
Use Primary Sense High Complexity report to identify eligible patients and recall for an HMR via SMS, letter or phone and export Primary Sense High Complexity report to excel for filtering.
Complete the HMR process.
Establish a relationship with a credentialed pharmacist to facilitate improved processes.
Put a recall in place for another HMR in 12 months. You may like to review the recall process for care planning so that HMR compliments this process.
Record the progress of HMR on the activity tracking spreadsheet.
Step 4. Access clinical guidelines and other resources
Medicines Advice Initiative Australia: addressing the hidden risk of cumulative medicines load to reduce harm
Video: HMR community service announcement
Brisbane North HealthPathways: medication management review
Pharmaceutical Society of Australia: credentialed pharmacists directory
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document
HMR CQI checklist
step 1 resources
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pdf
HMR fact sheet for GPs
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link
Brisbane North PHN HMR patient brochure
step 3 resources
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pdf
HMR activity tracking spreadsheet
PDSA examples
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pdf
PDSA - identify patients eligible for an HMR
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pdf
PDSA - increase the number of HMRs completed
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pdf
PDSA - reviewing MBS item 900 billings
CQI Topics
