IntroductionPoor medicines management places patients at risk, particularly during care transitions. For patients with heart failure (HF), optimal medicines management is crucial to control symptoms and prevent hospital readmission. This study explored the concept of resilience using HF as an example condition to understand how the system compensates for known and unknown weaknesses.MethodsWe explored resilience using a mixed-methods approach in four healthcare economies in the north of England. Data from hospital site observations, healthcare staff and patient interviews, and documentary analysis were collected between June 2016 and March 2017. Data were synthesised and analysed using framework analysis.ResultsInterviews were conducted with 45 healthcare professionals, with 20 patients at three time points and 189 hours of observation were undertaken. We identified four primary inter-related themes concerning organisational resilience. These were named as gaps, traps, bridges and props. Gaps were discontinuities in processes that had the potential to result in poorly optimised medicines. Traps were features of the system that could produce errors or unintended adverse medication events. Bridges were features of the medicines management system that promoted safety and continuity which ensured that, despite varying conditions, care could be delivered successfully. Props were informal, temporary or impromptu actions taken by patients or healthcare staff to avoid potential adverse events.ConclusionThe numerous opportunities for HF patient safety to be compromised and for suboptimal medicines management during this common care transition are mitigated by system resilience. Cross-organisational bridges and temporary fixes or ‘props’ put in place by patients and carers, healthcare teams and organisations are critical for safe and optimal care to be delivered in the face of continued system pressures.

Background Implementation and uptake of novel and cost-effective medicines can improve patient health outcomes and healthcare efficiency. However, the uptake of new medicines into practice faces a wide range of obstacles. Earlier reviews provided insights into determinants for new medicine uptake (such as medicine, prescriber, patient, organization, and external environment factors). However, the methodological approaches used had limitations (e.g., single author, narrative review, narrow search, no quality assessment of reviewed evidence). This systematic review aims to identify barriers and facilitators affecting the uptake of new medicines into clinical practice and identify areas for future research. Method A systematic search of literature was undertaken within seven databases: Medline, EMBASE, Web of Science, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, SCOPUS, and PsychINFO. Included in the review were qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies focused on adult participants (18 years and older) requiring or taking new medicine(s) for any condition, in the context of healthcare organizations and which identified factors affecting the uptake of new medicines. The methodological quality was assessed using QATSDD tool. A narrative synthesis of reported factors was conducted using framework analysis and a conceptual framework was utilised to group them. Results A total of 66 studies were included. Most studies (n = 62) were quantitative and used secondary data (n = 46) from various databases, e.g., insurance databases. The identified factors had a varied impact on the uptake of the different studied new medicines. Differently from earlier reviews, patient factors (patient education, engagement with treatment, therapy preferences), cost of new medicine, reimbursement and formulary conditions, and guidelines were suggested to influence the uptake. Also, the review highlighted that health economics, wider organizational factors, and underlying behaviours of adopters were not or under explored. Conclusion This systematic review has identified a broad range of factors affecting the uptake of new medicines within healthcare organizations, which were grouped into patient, prescriber, medicine, organizational, and external environment factors. This systematic review also identifies additional factors affecting new medicine use not reported in earlier reviews, which included patient influence and education level, cost of new medicines, formulary and reimbursement restrictions, and guidelines. Registration PROSPERO database (CRD42018108536).

ObjectiveTo explore the barriers/facilitators to deprescribing in primary care in England from the perspectives of clinicians, patients living with frailty who reside at home, and their informal carers, drawing on the Theoretical Domains Framework to identify behavioural components associated with barriers/facilitators of the process.DesignExploratory qualitative study.SettingGeneral practice (primary care) in England.Participants9 patients aged 65+ living with frailty who attended a consultation to reduce or stop a medicine/s. 3 informal carers of patients living with frailty. 14 primary care clinicians including general practitioners, practice pharmacists and advanced nurse practitioners.MethodsQualitative semistructured interviews took place with patients living with frailty, their informal carers and clinicians. Patients (n=9) and informal carers (n=3) were interviewed two times: immediately after deprescribing and 5/6 weeks later. Clinicians (n=14) were interviewed once. In total, 38 interviews were undertaken. Framework analysis was applied to manage and analyse the data.Results6 themes associated with facilitators and barriers to deprescribing were generated, respectively, with each supported by between two and three subthemes. Identified facilitators of deprescribing with patients living with frailty included shared decision-making, gradual introduction of the topic, clear communication of the topic to the patient and multidisciplinary working. Identified barriers of deprescribing included consultation constraints, patients' fear of negative consequences and inaccessible terminology and information.ConclusionsThis paper offers timely insight into the barriers and facilitators to deprescribing for patients living with frailty within the context of primary care in England. As deprescribing continues to grow in national and international significance, it is important that future deprescribing interventions acknowledge the current barriers and facilitators and their associated behavioural components experienced by clinicians, patients living with frailty and their informal carers to improve the safety and effectiveness of the process.

Introduction There are robust associations between use of anticholinergic medicines and adverse effects in older people. However, the nature of these associations for older people living with frailty is yet to be established. Objectives The aims were to identify and investigate associations between anticholinergics and adverse outcomes in older people living with frailty and to investigate whether exposure is associated with greater risks according to frailty status. Methods MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Web of Science and PsycINFO were searched to 1 August 2019. Observational studies reporting associations between anticholinergics and outcomes in older adults (average age ≥ 65 years) that reported frailty using validated measures were included. Primary outcomes were physical impairment, cognitive dysfunction, and change in frailty status. Risk of bias was evaluated using the Cochrane Risk of Bias In Non-randomised Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) tool. Meta-analysis was undertaken where appropriate. Results Thirteen studies (21,516 participants) were included (ten community, one residential aged-care facility and two hospital studies). Observed associations included reduced ability for chair standing, slower gait speeds, poorer physical performance, increased risk of falls and mortality. Conflicting results were reported for grip strength, timed up and go test, cognition and activities of daily living. No associations were observed for transitions between frailty states, psychological wellbeing or benzodiazepine-related adverse reactions. There was no clear evidence of differences in risks according to frailty status. Conclusions Anticholinergics are associated with adverse outcomes in older people living with frailty; however, the literature has significant methodological limitations. There is insufficient evidence to suggest greater risks based on frailty, and there is an urgent need to evaluate this further in well-designed studies stratifying by frailty.

BackgroundThe NHS in the UK supports pharmacists’ deployment into general practices. This article reports on the implementation and impact of the Primary Care Pharmacy Programme (PCPP). The programme is a care delivery model that was undertaken at scale across a city in which community pharmacists (CPs) were matched with general practices and performed clinical duties for one half-day per week.AimTo investigate (a) challenges of integration of CPs in general practices, and (b) the perceived impact on care delivery and community pharmacy practice.Design & settingThis mixed-methods study was conducted with CPs, community pharmacy employers (CPEs), scheme commissioners (SCs), and patients in Sheffield.MethodSemi-structured interviews (n = 22) took place with CPs (n = 12), CPEs (n = 2), SCs (n = 3), and patients (n = 5). A cross-sectional survey of PCPP pharmacists (n = 47, 66%) was also used. A descriptive analysis of patient feedback forms was undertaken and a database of pharmacist activities was created.ResultsEighty-six of 88 practices deployed a pharmacist. Although community pharmacy contracting and backfill arrangements were sometimes complicated, timely deployment was achieved. Development of closer relationships appeared to facilitate extension of initially agreed roles, including transition from ‘backroom’ to patient-facing clinical work. CPs gained understanding of GP processes and patients’ primary care pathway, allowing them to follow up work at the community pharmacy in a more timely way, positively impacting on patients' and healthcare professionals’ perceived delivery of care.ConclusionThe PCPP scheme was the first of its kind to achieve almost universal uptake by GPs throughout a large city. The study findings reveal the potential for CP–GP joint-working in increasing perceived positive care delivery and reducing fragmented care, and can inform future implementation at scale and at practice level.