Home medicines review. The how and why for GPs.

BACKGROUND

Patients' safe and effective use of medicines could be far lower than many doctors would like to believe. The Home Medicines Review (HMR) program was introduced into the Australian Medicare Benefits Schedule in 2001 to increase the appropriate use of medicines and reduce the incidence of adverse events. To date, the uptake of this program has been slow.

OBJECTIVE

This article highlights the simplicity and benefits of the HMR program, raises some of the barriers that may have slowed the uptake of this worthwhile program, and suggests options for addressing this.

DISCUSSION

The HMR is a simple and effective way of improving a patient's appropriate use of medicines. It involves the general practitioner, community pharmacist and an accredited pharmacist working together to assess and educate the patient on safe and effective medication use. The process can be effectively streamlined to provide maximum efficiency utilising computerisation. The bottom line is improved patient outcomes through teamwork and improved communication.