Effective from August 2024

Workflow Owner: Manager - Community Nursing, Self Managed and Welcome Team

Objective

To provide Five Good Friends workers (employees, Helpers, and contractors) with a clear approach to medication support that enables safe and effective care for our Members.

Key Information

• Members who are receiving medication support will be enabled to manage their medications as independently as possible, with the least restrictive approach.
• Workers must report medication incidents as per the Incident Management Policy and Workflow.

Definitions

• Medication – a drug that acts on or in the body to treat disease or illness, increase life expectancy, or improve someone’s life. Medication can be prescription and non-prescription medicines and can be taken by a variety of routes.
• Medication support - when a non-registered health professional, e.g. Helper, assists a Member with self-administration by undertaking a specific task (remove medication from a dose administration aid or remove the lid from original packaging). With medication support, the Member / Authorised Representative is still responsible for medication management.
• PRN Medication - ‘as needed’ or ‘as required. PRN medications are not scheduled to be taken at regular times but are able to be taken as required in line with the instructions on the medication packaging.

Workflow

Members

1. During the sign up meeting, Self-Administration of Medications Risk Assessment Tool will be completed for all Members who will be receiving medication support as a service delivered by FGF, or if concerns have been raised or identified about their ability to manage their own medications.

   Concerns may include but not limited to: cognitive status, polypharmacy, contraindications, history of medication errors by Member/family.

   • The SAMRAT must be completed or reviewed by a Community Nurse or a Care Specialist with a nursing qualification.
   • The outcomes from the SAMRAT will be documented in the Member’s Help Plan in the How to support me section > Medication Support template.

2. Members, regardless of whether they receive medication support or not will have the Medication Support template in the Help Plan completed.

   • If the Member isn’t receiving medication support, only the first section is completed that identifies that FGF is not providing medication support.

3. Members who receive medication support as a service must provide consent to receive the service. This consent will be documented as follows:

   • HCP Members - Home Care Agreement
   • NDIS Members - NDIS Service Agreement
   • Private Members - Privately Funded Service Agreement

4. The Member’s Health Summary & Medication List will be requested from their GP using the GP Notification Form to confirm what medications they are prescribed and for what reasons.

   • If the Member doesn’t consent for FGF to speak with their GP, the assessing nurse must confirm the Member’s medications in another manner. For example, sighting the webster pack or medication containers, asking the Member to obtain a copy of their Health Summary & Medication List from their GP and providing it to FGF, or asking permission to obtain this information from the Member’s pharmacist.