Fort Kent ~ St. David resident, Edwina Levesque, was no different in any way from any other patient when she was recently hospitalized at Northern Maine Medical Center (NMMC). Her primary goal, and that of her husband, Erny, was to get back to the comfort and familiarity of their home as soon as possible. This mirrored the healthcare team’s goal as well; however, they knew they only had a brief period of time to make sure the patient and her husband were informed about how to manage her care and to understand the changes in her medication schedule once she did return home.
Understanding medications as well as many other challenges can make the difference in success versus hospital readmission for patients when they go home. Maximizing the time during the hospital stay is crucial for the healthcare team in order to assess what type of education and support the patient will need when they return home. Kim Bonenfant, RN, Medical Surgical charge nurse said, “Patients are often too ill and preoccupied to know where to begin to ask questions they will need answered to manage their illness when they return home.” She said the hospital stay is generally brief, complex and filled with treatments and procedures making it challenging for patients to stay focused on what they need to learn before they transition to another level of care.
NMMC has implemented multiple best practices to improve the success of its patients to ensure safe medication administration at home and to prevent unnecessary readmission to the hospital. One of the latest strategies implemented is the use of the teach-back method of instruction. According to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), the teach-back method is a best-practice used to provide education about any topic; the method is particularly effective to help establish a patient’s understanding of medication because of the risk and complexity associated with medication administration. Dustin Butler, NMMC’s Pharmacy Supervisor said, “Most learners respond well to the teach-back method because it allows them to repeat the instructions using their own words.” He also said the teach-back method confirms comprehension and reveals misunderstanding before the patient goes home.
As an additional support to the patient, for nearly two years now, NMMC has offered a courtesy home visit allowing patients an opportunity to benefit yet one more time from RN instruction in the familiar surroundings of their home. The home visit is also more conducive to the inclusion of family members and provides a clearer assessment of the patient’s surroundings. The ability to perform this assessment assists in identifying needs in the home not anticipated while the patient is in the hospital, thus allowing the opportunity to make a referral for additional services on behalf of the patient when necessary.
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