Aveo partners to boost medication safety

Senior living provider Aveo has partnered with clinical pharmacist company Choice Aged Care to support staff and home care consumers with medication review and management services. 

Aveo is the operator and manager of over 90 retirement living communities across Australia as well as an approved home care provider. It offers a range of independent and assisted living options and delivers tailored care and support to help home care consumers remain independent in their home.

CAC already delivers Residential Medication Management Review and Quality Use of Medicines services to more than 500 aged care facilities and 43,000 residents, and this is the first Australian senior living operator to engage these services from the professional pharmacy services provider.

Currently pharmacists are funded by the federal government to deliver RMMR and QUM services in residential aged care. The government is also funding a new program commencing soon to embed pharmacists in all aged care homes. While people living in the community can access the Home Medicines Review service via a GP referral, there are no funded pharmacist initiatives in the home aged care sector like those in residential aged care.

Aveo said it has privately contracted CAC to bridge this gap as part of its commitment to safe and high-quality care. Aveo’s chief risk officer Joshua Little said the organisation was excited by this “industry-leading” opportunity to implement a robust system for the safe and quality use of medicines by home care recipients.

“Through access to industry-leading training, and medicines-related information resources, our nursing staff will be better positioned to proactively identify and mitigate risks of harm, leading to improved quality of life for care recipients,” Mr Little said in a statement.

Choice Aged Care chief executive officer and clinical pharmacist Michael Bonner described the partnership as “a watershed moment for the home care sector” in Australia.

“Medication management for older people at home reflects a huge risk to both the care provider and the consumer. Despite the government’s preference to have older people age with dignity and maximum independence within their home, pharmacists are not yet funded to facilitate that objective,” Mr Bonner said in a statement.

“Aveo’s investment and validation of the role for clinical pharmacists within home care is trailblazing and delivers high-level as well as person-centred medication safety stewardship.”            

Included pharmacist services

Under the deal, CAC will provide services and access to a range of its medication safety tools and resources to Aveo as an organisation, their staff and home care consumers including:

• medication management advisory and continuous improvement services, including establishing an organisation-wide medication advisory committee
• medication review services
• access to clinical, care, drug and health information resources for staff and consumers
• online training for staff and face-to-face information sessions for staff and consumers
• clinical governance framework and continuous improvement support relating to polypharmacy, psychotropic use and antimicrobial stewardship
• a geriatrician service.

“The Aveo team very much look forward to working with Choice Aged Care in conjunction with individual care recipients and their medical practitioners to support the health and wellbeing of consumers,” said Mr Little.

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