After some struggles with medicine management highlighted by the CQC in three separate inspections, Offington Park Care Home recently moved onto Camascope’s eMAR and received a positive CQC inspection, resulting in ‘Good’ ratings within all categories (Safe, Effective, Caring and Well-Led).
We are often asked how implementing eMAR helps homes during a CQC inspection. Medicine management is a fundamental element of an inspection and often the cause for rating downgrades, as providers must demonstrate the safe and effective use of medicines in care homes. Both NICE and CQC have produced several documents to guide providers and managers in managing medicines in a care home environment. Camascope’s eMAR embeds much of the best-practice guidance on medicine management to assist staff in managing and caring for residents.
CQC Improvements
The latest "Good" report for Offington Park was a fantastic outcome following three consecutive inspections in which the home had been rated as “Requires Improvement” overall and from a safety standpoint.
In September 2020, the home's inspection mentioned that “medicines had not always been provided according to prescribing instructions for one person. Medicines were sometimes out of stock and two people had not received their medicines.” In their January 2020 inspection, the report mentioned that “there was a lack of oversight of medicines management and one person had not had their medicines administered according to prescribing guidance”.
Following these reports, Offington Park opted to move to Camascope’s eMAR as the software addressed many of the issues cited in previous inspections. The decision contributed to immediate improvements in medication management processes which were recognised by the CQC.
Some of the highlights from the home’s latest report include:
“The provider had introduced a new electronic system which kept an automatic count of stock levels as each one was administered. This meant staff knew when to order new medicines. We observed one staff member double-check medicine levels during the inspection. The system also alerted staff to medicines that were required in between regular medicine rounds. This provided people with person-centred support and ensured that appropriate gaps were maintained between doses…There were safe systems in place to ensure that medicines were administered safely.
Medication Administration Records (MAR) showed people received their medicines as prescribed and these records were completed accurately. Staff were positive about the improvements detailed above that the provider had made since the last inspection on how medicines were managed. Staff told us that the new medicine system was clearer and safer”.
It is important to stress that implementing eMAR in itself will not guarantee perfect medicine processes as outstanding care is always driven by the staff delivering it. Implementing eMAR, though, helps organisations to produce an auditable record of medicine administration instantly. In doing so, this helps to show an inspector how medicine management processes are both safe and well-led. The technology also enables prescription information to feed directly from the pharmacy to the care home, ensuring that medicines are administered as prescribed.
System alerts also point to potential missed medications and gaps in residents’ MAR charts. Automatic PRN follow-ups provide busy care teams with reminders for when to offer PRN medicines and a clear log of when ‘As Required’ medications are offered but refused. When medicines are administered, Camascope’s eMAR will update the stock count automatically ensuring that medicine storage information remains accurate at all times
If you’d like to know how Camascope's new eMAR solution can work for your organisation, contact us to find out more.
