northwestern university and access community health network medication education study

Conditions: Hypertension

Summary: many patients have difficulty performing routine medication management tasks. individuals with limited literacy are at high risk for these problems. the overall study objective is to rigorously evaluate two primary care-based medication therapy management strategies that leverage an electronic health record (ehr) to promote patient understanding, medication reconciliation, medication adherence and disease control among hypertensive patients at safety net clinics.

medication therapy management (mtm) has been described as a set of procedures that include: medication review, assembly of a personal medication record, development of action plans, intervention when necessary, and follow-up. however, evidence showing the effectiveness of general mtm interventions is scant. mtm has often been performed separately from patients' usual sources of care (i.e., at pharmacies). this could limit its effectiveness since medication-related concerns would be discussed by clinicians who are not aware of the regimen intended by patients' prescribers. cost is another barrier to widespread use of mtm. health information technology in primary care could be leveraged to assist with mtm tasks. the investigators have field tested low literacy mtm tools embedded within an ehr to 1) activate patients to review medications, 2) automate the provision of plain language, medication information, and 3) provide print tools to help patients engage providers, and consolidate their regime. these tools were developed with patient, physician, and pharmacist feedback. for this study, the investigators combine tools to address the range of mtm tasks. in aggregate, the study refers to this as an electronic health record-based health literacy medication therapy management intervention, or 'ehmi'. the investigators will evaluate the effects of this approach among patients with uncontrolled hypertension treated in federally qualified health centers (fqhcs). this may be a relatively low-cost strategy ideal for safety net practices that use ehrs and whose patients may be at greater risk for limited literacy. it is also possible that the ehmi strategy may not result in a significant change. therefore, the investigators will also evaluate using a nurse educator to help patients utilize ehmi tools, provide brief counseling, and track progress. this three-arm, clinic-randomized, controlled trial conducted within a network of fqhcs will evaluate the ehmi and ehmi + nurse educator interventions compared to usual care. recruited patients will be followed for 12 months. the investigators will test the impact of these two strategies on blood pressure levels, with an anticipated power to detect a 4 mm hg difference in systolic blood pressure as the primary outcome. the investigators will also assess the impact on diastolic blood pressure, as well as hba1c and ldl cholesterol control in the subgroup with diabetes. the investigators will determine the interventions' effects on: 1) medication understanding, 2) discrepancies, and 3) adherence. the investigators will specifically examine intervention effects among groups with different literacy levels. the investigators will also assess the fidelity and cost of the interventions to guide future dissemination efforts.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * age is 18 years or older * at least 3 medications are prescribed by their physician * standardized mean blood pressure measurement ≥130 mm hg systolic or ≥ 80 mm hg diastolic if they are diabetic or mean blood pressure measurement ≥ 135 mm hg systolic or ≥ 85 mm hg diastolic if they are not * a mini-cog exam score of ≥ 3 * the patient is the person primarily responsible for administering their medication * the patient does not intend to move or change their usual source of medical care during the next year. exclusion criteria: * the patient's usual source of medical care is not a participating access community health center * is non-english language speaking * does not meet mean blood pressure criteria * has a mini-cog exam score of \< 3 * is not the person primarily responsible for administering medication * intends to move or change their usual source of medical care during the next year. * is not prescribed at least 3 medications

Keywords: medication therapy management hypertension health literacy medication reconciliation medication adherence