OptiMEDs Pilot Study

The interest in improving the pharmacotherapy of older adults in nursing homes is growing. The OptiMEDs interventions intends to support the decision of GPs regarding the pharmacotherapy of older adults through the combination of an electronic decision support tool (for the appraisal of potentially inappropriate medication use, anticholinergic use, or medications that can be de-prescribed in view of limited life expectancy) with focussed nurse observations (guided by a list of potential medication symptoms based on the individual medication chart of the resident), that will serve as the basis for a multidisciplinary medication review with the input of the GP, community pharmacist and nurse. The aim of the OptiMEDs intervention is to obtain a more appropriate, safer, and more cost-effective pharmacotherapy in nursing home residents (e.g. less medication-related symptoms, less potentially inappropriate prescribing, a better quality of life, less hospitalisations, health care usage, or mortality) Before investigating the effectiveness of the OptiMEDs intervention in a large pragmatic clinical trial comparing results of the intervention with standard of care, a pilot study will be undertaken. The aim of the pilot study is to test the feasibility and acceptability of all components of the OptiMEDs interventions in 3 nursing homes in Flanders, Belgium.