Lehne's Ch 3 promoting positive outcomes of drug therapy

Chapter 3 – Promoting positive outcomes of drug therapy

Opportunities to promote positive outcomes in drug therapy
 Drug education
 Monitoring
 Promoting adherence
 Medication reviews

Medication Education
 Opportunity to explain importance of the med and dispel rumors
 Reduces medication errors, empowers patients with accurate and clear guidelines

Medication Education Components
 Medication name
 Purpose
 Dosing
 Administration
 Adverse effects
 Storage
 Lab testing
 Food or drug interactions
 Duration of therapy

Medication Name
 There are pt who only know the purpose of the med and not the name which
increases the risk of errors
 Pt should carry list of meds listing both brand name and generic to prevent same
drug being prescribed twice

Purpose
 Pt awareness increases compliance which produces positive outcomes and achieves
the therapeutic goal

Dosing
 Review rx with patient even though it is written on label to ensure understanding and
lend the opportunity to ask questions
 Explain regimens such as “four times a day” or “once a day.”
 Explain what to do if dose is missed

Administration
 Explain whether or not to take with food
 Shake suspensions to equally disperse ingredients, or roll to avoid foaming
 Teach how to use any special apparatus like inhaled drugs

Adverse Effects
 Pt has a right to know harms of treatment even if it means they will likely refuse it
 Approach matters
 Most adverse drug effects occur in 1-2% of those taking it