Implementing the EQUiPPED Medication Management Program
The Enhancing Quality of Prescribing Practices for Older Veterans Discharged from the Emergency Department (EQUiPPED) program aimed to reduce potentially inappropriate medication prescribing to older adults at 5 VAMCs.
Dr. Vandenberg is an affiliate research associate, Dr. Stevens is an affiliate investigator, Dr. Echt is Atlanta site director for education and evaluation, Dr. Markland is a geriatrician and associate director for clinical programs, and Dr. Vaughan is a geriatrician and Atlanta site director for clinical programs, all at the Birmingham/Atlanta VA Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) in Georgia and Alabama. Dr. Hastings is a geriatrician at the Durham VAMC and an investigator at the Durham GRECC and the HSR&D Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care in North Carolina. Dr. Powers is associate director for clinical programs at the Tennessee Valley Healthcare System GRECC in Nashville. Dr. Hwang is an investigator and Dr. Hung is associate director for clinical programs at the James J. Peters VAMC GRECC in Bronx, New York. Dr. Belbis is a pharmacist at Carondelet St. Mary’s Hospital in Tucson, Arizona.
Author disclosures The authors report no actual or potential conflicts of interest with regard to this article.
Disclaimer The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Federal Practitioner, Frontline Medical Communications Inc., the U.S. Government, or any of its agencies. This article may discuss unlabeled or investigational use of certain drugs. Please review the complete prescribing information for specific drugs or drug combinations—including indications, contraindications, warnings, and adverse effects—before administering pharmacologic therapy to patients.
The implementation model and components of the tool kit are available by request through the Birmingham/Atlanta GRECC. With these materials, the EQUiPPED project is poised for implementation at other VA EDs or at sites beyond the VA.
Conclusion
Successful implementation of EQUiPPED, an innovative geriatric practice intervention to reduce PIM prescribing in the ED, is dependent on careful planning and site customization. Distilling factors that differed across VA sites resulted in a model intended to promote implementation and dissemination of the EQUIPPED intervention.
