Digital Health News

QBIC (Quality Based Improvements in Care) is a program hosted by the eHealth Centre of Excellence (eCE) that works to provide primary care providers within Waterloo Wellington with support to incorporate telehealthcare services, such as eConsult, into their practice workflow.

We will be using our blog to highlight providers in our region who are receiving eConsult services – and this month, we would like to put the spotlight on GeriMedRisk.

Medications are an important part of managing health and well-being for many older adults. Often a number of medications are needed to support those with multiple chronic conditions.   However, as the number of medications increase, so does the risk and currently, thousands of older adults experience an adverse drug event (ADE) or a negative reaction as a result of medications. Previous research has shown that decreating the number of medications can lower the risk and improve older adults’ quality of life, but it requires careful consideration.

An innovative new program called GeriMedRisk aims to tackle this issue, and a pilot project is kicking off at the Centre of Excellence for Innovation in Aging. GeriMedRisk was developed by Dr. Joanne Ho (Schlegel Clinical Scientist at McMaster University) to provide care teams with specialized geriatric support when addressing multiple medications in older adults.

Clinicians can access GeriMedRisk’s specialized team of nurses, pharmacists, and physicians by telephone or through telemedicine, so it offers reliable support and advice much more quickly than referring to a specialist.

By supporting clinicians in optimizing medications for older adults, there is potential to reduce adverse events and their consequences, for example, drug-related cognitive impairment, falls, and hospital visits. The hope is that by piloting GeriMedRisk, we can show it is not only timely and cost-effective but enhances quality of life for older adults who are reliant on multiple medications.

For more information or to request an eConsult via the Ontario Telemedicine Hub (OTNHub), please visit www.gerimedrisk.ca

GeriMedRisk is generously supported by a strong partnership of organizations including the Research Institute for Aging, Canadian Mental Health Association of Waterloo Wellington, McMaster University, St. Joseph's Health Centre Guelph, Ontario Telemedicine Network, Grand River Hospital and the Ontario Poison Centre.