Reasonable adjustments to application of the Medication Safety Standard for adult patients living with intellectual disability in Australian hospital settings

Purpose of review

Adults living with intellectual disability experience higher rates of preventable adverse medication events across the medicine pathway compared to their peers without disability.

Source of information

The Medication Safety Standard, developed by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, describes systems and strategies to ensure that clinicians and health organisations safely prescribe, dispense, administer appropriate medications to informed patients, and monitor their use.

Key findings

Optimal application of the Medication Safety Standard for this population requires the development of reasonable adjustments to its action which take into account the barriers to safe medication management experienced by them in hospital settings. Design of such reasonable adjustments is influenced by consideration of the experiences of medicine management within with people living with intellectual disability, with intellectual disability, the roles of disability supports, and the disability-health sector interface in relation to medication management.

Conclusion

This review describes the formulation of a range of practice point reasonable adjustments to the usual clinical processes, content, knowledge, and organisation required in application of the Medication Safety Standard for adult patients living with intellectual disability.