Over 12,000 at-risk patients received additional support with their medications when leaving hospital
With the use of specialist software, over 12,000 patients have received support from their community pharmacist thanks to a national AHSN programme rolled out in the East Midlands.
When people are discharged from hospital, they may need extra support in taking their prescribed medicines; especially if their medication or dosage has changed.
Transfers of Care Around Medicines (TCAM) includes a technical platform that helps trusts to communicate to a patient’s local community pharmacy about changes to their medication when they leave hospital. It ensures patients receive ongoing support from their local, community pharmacist so they have the correct medicines and are confident in taking them safely and appropriately after hospital discharge.
The AHSN Network has been supporting the national adoption and spread of Transfer of Care Around Medicines (TCAM) software since 2018.
In February 2021, nationally the NHS Discharge Medicines Service (DMS) was introduced as a new service available in all community pharmacies in England, encompassing TCAM. We supported two trusts to upgrade their software to ensure their systems were compatible with the DMS.
The project aims to address the increased risk associated with medicines and transfers of care. Between 30 and 70% of patients experience unintentional changes to their treatment or medication errors because of miscommunication between care providers and this can lead to them being readmitted into hospital.
We supported this programme by assisting trusts to understand implementation requirements and navigating potential barriers, disseminating TCAM software, facilitating system training and by engaging with community pharmacies to support awareness and training to increase completion of referrals from trusts.
