Care home residents are among the most clinically vulnerable populations, often managing multiple long‑term conditions alongside complex medication regimens. Within Hertfordshire & West Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB), medicines optimisation in care homes had historically relied on manual, fragmented processes, limiting the ability to identify high‑risk residents, evidence outcomes at scale, or proactively prevent avoidable hospital admissions.
To address these challenges, the ICB implemented FDB CoordinateRx, using the Care Homes module to standardise medicines audits, improve compliance, and strengthen visibility of medicines-related risk. The solution enabled Medicines Optimisation in Care Homes (MOCH) teams to move away from reactive ‘firefighting’ and towards a proactive, data‑driven approach, freeing up clinical time and reducing administrative burden.
By providing structured recording of interventions and clearer oversight of risk factors such as polypharmacy, anticholinergic burden and oversedation, CoordinateRx supported earlier clinical interventions, including deprescribing, dose adjustments and enhanced monitoring. Over a single year, the team completed 925 medication reviews across 73 care homes, preventing 83 hospital admissions.
The impact extended beyond individual patient outcomes. Robust, evidence‑based reporting strengthened assurance for regulators and commissioners, supported CQC inspections, and enabled consistent measurement of outcomes across care home clusters. As a result, Hertfordshire & West Essex ICB achieved over £558,000 in annual savings, while embedding a scalable, sustainable model for proactive medicines optimisation that can be adopted across neighbourhood and place‑based care settings.
Key Takeaways
- 83 hospital admissions avoided through proactive, data‑driven medicines optimisation
- £558k+ total annual savings, including adverse event and drug cost savings
- 925 medication reviews across 73 care homes, enabled by reduced admin and improved risk visibility
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