Published on 29 Jun 2012
At Trinity Mother Frances-Jacksonville, we're committed to providing quality care for our patients. We know the healing process is just beginning as you return home from a hospital stay. That's why our pharmacist visits patients prior to their discharge.
"A lot of times people get home, they sit down, they look at the medications they've been given, most of them are new and they don't know what it is. At that point they realize it wasn't explained well enough or it was explained and they were just kind of out of it being sick and so they need some help."
"That's where I come in. The goal for me to go in as a pharmacist, before the patient ever leaves the hospital, go over their list of meds. Whether that's meds they've been on forever, but maybe have some questions about or new medications that the doctor's have given them once they go home from the hospital. We go over the medication, how they take it, how long they'll take it and any side effects they'd want to look for and how bad those side effects are and if it's something they need to get back in touch with their primary physician about or not."
"I think now people are realizing healthcare doesn't stop once a patient leaves the door. It's an ongoing process so we just want to do the best we can while the patient is here, to make sure they have the knowledge they need and not just hope someone else gives them that knowledge."
It's that knowledge that the hospital wants to make sure their patients are aware of when they leave their care.
"They say knowledge is power, so we're just trying to empower the patients on their journey to being well. Most patients as you know when they leave the hospital they may not be a hundred percent. You know 50, 60, 70 percent, but they're not completely well from a normal standpoint. So this just gives them the power, the knowledge to know how to deal with these issues themselves, to know what to look for as far as their medication therapies are concerned."
The hospital also knows that many patients rely on family, friends or caretakers for their healthcare needs. That's why they are encouraged to participate in the discussion and address any questions they may have.
"Now of course there are laws that state you can't just shout out patient info to anybody so you have to have the patients permission first to talk to other family members or friends who may be in the room. Once that's established, especially if you're a caretaker, you're going to go see mom everyday and help with her medications and anything else she has going on, then absolutely you need to be involved in the process. You need to know what side effects to look for, know what the medication is supposed to do, and to know that your mom is getting better. You want to know what those signs and symptoms are."
Trinity Mother Frances-Jacksonville feels providing this discharge counseling service is just one small way they can help improve the overall health of their patients.
"So far I think it's working pretty well. It's a fairly new thing, but we feel like in the future that it will pan out and that there will be a decrease in readmissions and an overall increase in patient health
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