Assessment of pharmacists' knowledge and application of pharmacologic risk assessment tools in older people using a continuing professional development education method. — The Association Specialists
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  2. Optimising Health Care Risks and Education
  3. Assessment of pharmacists' knowledge and application of pharmacologic risk assessment tools in older people using a continuing professional development education method.

Assessment of pharmacists' knowledge and application of pharmacologic risk assessment tools in older people using a continuing professional development education method. (242)

Lisa Kouladjian 1 2 , Timothy Chen 3 , Danijela Gnjidic 1 2 3 , Sarah Hilmer 1 2
  1. Clinical Pharmacology and Aged Care, Royal North Shore Hospital & Kolling Institute of Medical Research, St Leonards, NSW, Australia
  2. Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  3. Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Introduction. The Drug Burden Index (DBI) is a pharmacologic risk assessment tool that measures an individual’s total exposure to anticholinergic and sedative medications, and has been associated with impaired functional outcomes in older adults. There is a potential for pharmacists to use the DBI as a clinical tool to advise changes to exposure of these medications in older adults when conducting medication management reviews (MMRs). Education is fundamental to changing behaviours to improve professional practice and influence patient healthcare outcomes.

Aims. To educate pharmacists on pharmacologic risk assessment in older patients and to assess their knowledge using Continuing Professional Development (CPD) education.

Methods. The intervention was an educational article on issues such as polypharmacy, DBI and prescribing surrounding a fictional patient case, followed by four multiple-choice questions (MCQs) which, when answered, provided CPD credits for pharmacists. De-identified information on participants completing the CPD activity was obtained including age, gender, area and locality of practice, MMR accreditation status, and the answers to the four MCQs. Descriptive analyses were used to describe participant characteristics and performance in the MCQs.

Results. The MCQs were completed by 2,522 participants with the majority of participants female and a median participant age of 38 (IQR=27). Participants were mainly from New South Wales (31.8%), practising in community pharmacy (71.5%) and were not accredited to conduct MMRs (82.3%). The majority of participants were given full CPD credits for completing the exam (97.9%), however only 76.5% of participants received full marks. The question which required calculation of the DBI for a fictional patient was the lowest scored question.

Discussion. Our findings suggest that pharmacists have good knowledge of pharmacologic risk assessment tools. An electronic calculator may be required to facilitate use of the DBI as a clinical tool to optimise prescribing in older adults.