Just like anything, long term care has its own language. I’m going to breakdown a few of the most important acronyms and terminology that any consultant pharmacist in long term care should know.
- DRR or MRR. Drug regimen review (or medication regimen review) is the primary component of what a consultant pharmacist does on at least a monthly basis in long term care. It is a review of the medical record to look for adverse effects, appropriate prescribing, drug interactions, unnecessary medications, etc.
- The MAR. MAR is the medication administration record. MAR is terminology that is certainly found in other healthcare settings, but it is so critical in long term care, I had to include it. From PRN use, to patients refusing medications, to medication errors, to identifying potential drug diversion, I’ve used the MAR countless times to make sure long term care residents are receiving safe and effective medication therapy.
- DON or DNS. The director of nursing or director of nursing service is going to be your go to person when there is problem that needs to be corrected. They are essentially the healthcare leader of a long term care facility.
- MDS. Minimum Data Set. The MDS contains a wealth of clinical information. I’ve definitely used it to help assess the benefits of medication. From behavioral health, to urinary assessments, there is substantial information to be gained when you need it.
- F-tags. F-tags are simply survey deficiencies that the state’s department of health gives out or potentially the feds if a federal survey has been done. Understandably, no one likes F-tags, and especially ones that are of high severity. A consultant pharmacist needs to do their very best to try to help the facility be deficiency free when it comes to medication related deficiencies. There are tons of nuances with survey deficiencies, but the 4 pharmacy related major ones include F-329, F-425, F-428, F-431. They involve appropriate use, reviewing medications, identification of unnecessary medications, as well as appropriate storage and procurement of medications.
- GDR. Much of a consultant pharmacists time is in assessing medication for possible Gradual Dose Reduction. The primary targets for GDR, and psych and sleep medications.
I’m going to be creating a how to do long term care consulting webinar and educating how to utilize the following items outlined below. What else would you like to know?
Nursing Home Consulting
- H&P
- Orders
- Assessments
- Mar
- Nurses notes
- Vitals
- progress notes
- Labs
- Gdr’s
- F-tags
- Surveyors
- Pharmacist documentation
- Location
- Amount
- How and who to write them to
- Controlled substances
- Meetings
- Quarterly report
- Behavior charting
- Med errors
- High risk meds in ltc
- Psych
- Med admin by nurses
- Reviewing policies
- Fallls tracking/review
- Reducing meds/polypharmacy stopping strategies
- Med rec
- Monthly review
- Availability for consult
- Care plans
- Physician documentation challenges
- Documentation consitancy
- Nurses – behaviors/target behavior compared to diagnosis given by Dr.
- Assessing drug benefits
- Pricing of consultant services
- Hospital stays
- Hospice
- Administration/nurse/med direction/provider/aids/social services
- Patient/family perspectives
- Regulatory education
- Inservice/educational role of consultant pharmacist
- Medication storage inspection
- Med pass audits
What else would you like to know?