Adverse events related to high risk medications can have devastating effects to nursing home residents. Proper management of high risk medications represents a serious challenge for nursing homes and merits close attention by top management and staff throughout the facility. CMS has developed and begun pilot testing the Focused Survey on Medication Safety Systems to look at nursing home practice around high-risk and problem-prone medications. Click here for the memo.
CMS collaborated with the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to develop a tool which includes potentially preventable medication-related events, risk factors, triggers, and probes to assist surveyors in investigating actual and potential adverse events and evaluate whether systems are in place to prevent medication-related adverse events. The Adverse Drug Event Trigger Tool is one of several tools in use for the pilot focused survey. Use of this draft tool is not mandatory but may aid in assessing compliance around medication issues. Nursing home providers my find it useful as a risk management tool.