Some patients take medicines (by mouth) to control different diseases or conditions. It is important that they take the right medicines, at the right times, and in the right amounts. Medicines include all those prescribed by a doctor, and any over-the-counter medicines like pain relievers, vitamins, laxatives, and antacids that are part of the patient's care plan.
For medicines to work properly, they need to be taken correctly. Taking too much or too little medicine can keep it from helping patients feel better and, in some cases, can make them sicker, make them confused (which could affect their safety), or even cause death. Home health staff can help teach patients ways to organize their medicines and take them properly. Getting better at taking their medicines correctly means the home health agency is doing a good job enabling patients to take their medicines correctly.
If patients can take their medicines correctly with little help, they may be more independent, feel better about themselves, and stay more active. This can positively affect their overall health. Patients' ability to take their medicines correctly may help them live independently as long as possible in their own home.
Patients should tell their doctor and home health care staff:
- all the medicines they take, including over-the counter medicines.
- if they are allergic to or have had a negative reaction (like rashes or dizziness) to any medicine in the past.
Some patients will lose function in their basic daily activities even though the home health care agency provides good care.
This is one of 41 OASIS-based measures for which Medicare-certified home health agencies receive performance reports from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The reports cover Medicare and Medicaid adult non-maternity patients and compare each agency's rates to national reference rates and to the agency's own rates in the previous year. The reports provide home health agencies with information they can use to improve quality of care by targeting care practices that influence specific patient functioning and health status, as part of a comprehensive quality improvement approach.
This measure is also one of ten Home Health Quality Initiative measures; a resource to help consumers compare home health agencies, and they are intended to motivate home health agencies to improve care and to inform discussions about quality between consumers and clinicians.
