Patients’ experiences with multidose drug dispensing: a cross sectional study

Abstract

Background Automated multidose drug dispensing is used to support patients with their medication management. Though multidose drug dispensing systems are frequently used, little is known about patients’ experiences with multidose drug dispensing systems. Objective To explore patients’ experiences with the initiation and use of multidose drug dispensing systems. Setting A survey was carried out with patients using multidose drug dispensing systems through three community pharmacies. Method A semi-structured interview protocol was designed based on existing literature and a pilot study. Main outcome measures The main outcome measures were (1) patients’ experiences with initiating multidose drug dispensing systems and (2) patients’ experienced advantages and disadvantages of multidose drug dispensing systems. Results The start of multidose drug dispensing was discussed with 76% of the patients (n = 62). Ninety percent of patients expressed the opinion that the multidose drug dispensing system supported them with their medication management. Sixty patients reported 110 advantages, which can be organized into the following categories: improved medication adherence and medication safety (59%); patient’s convenience (40%); and other (1%). Sixty-nine percent of patients reported no disadvantages, 24% had problems opening the bags or outer packaging and 13% had problems with the legibility of the printed text on the bag. Conclusion In concordance with the Dutch guideline, patients are generally involved in the decision to initiate an multidose drug dispensing system. Patients are very satisfied using the system and report multiple advantages. Multidose drug dispensing systems may be further improved by simplifying the manual opening of the bags and improving the legibility of the text on the bags.

The Practice Guidelines for Multidose Drug Dispensing Need Revision—An Investigation of Prescription Problems and Interventions

“…Our study indicates that the pharmacists only take limited responsibility for patient counselling when supplying MDD prescriptions. Reduced patient counselling about prescription medications upon dispensing might explain why patients using MDD have less knowledge about their medications than patients with ordinary prescriptions [ 16 , 18 ].…”

“…MDD, which is used by one third of patients receiving home care services in Norway [ 13 , 14 ], is an adherence aid where the patients’ medications are machine-dispensed in disposable plastic bags, usually for 14 days at a time. MDD is believed to increase medication safety by reducing dispensing errors, reducing discrepancies between medication lists, and increasing adherence [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. However, researchers have raised concerns that the MDD system increases the risk of inappropriate prescribing and medication errors, due to the automation of prescribing procedures and insufficient routines for updating the MDD prescriptions [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ].…”

From Paper to E-Prescribing of Multidose Drug Dispensing: A Qualitative Study of Workflow in a Community Care Setting

“…The MDD system is used in the Nordic countries and the Netherlands [ 15 ]. Compared to patients with ordinary prescribing, patients with MDD have fewer serious drug–drug interactions in their medication lists [ 16 , 17 ] and higher medication adherence [ 18 , 19 ] but are also more prone to medication errors in care-level transitions and inappropriate prescribing [ 17 , 20 , 21 , 22 ].…”

User Perception of Automated Dose Dispensed Medicine in Home Care: A Scoping Review

“…One study investigated the trust towards the technology, which, when implemented, introduces new requirements, both with respect to the patient and with respect to the health professional, who are both required to adjust their daily routines around the ADD robots [17]. Two studies investigated whether ADD robots were initiated for the appropriate patients and reported that one third of the patients were possibly inappropriately initiated on ADD robots, where some patients were experiencing only a few medication problems, and that ADD robots therefore were not needed [18,19].…”

“…This study was published in 2007 and the ADD technology has progressed since then, and user issues with ADD robots have gradually changed in characteristics. Some of the more recent studies mentioned that not all selected patients were suited for the technology, while others had not lost their capacity to administrate their own medication but, nevertheless, they were initiated on an ADD robot [18,19,22].…”