Your patients stay with you
You run the search, your practice sends the invitations, and patients reply to you. We only hear about a patient when one of your GPs refers them, the same as any other referral.
Find patients who may be eligible
Run a search in your clinical audit tool (such as Pen CS CAT4 or POLAR) or your practice software's own search. A good starting list is:
Suggested search
- Active patients seen at the practice in the last 12 months
- Aged 65 or over (widen this once the routine is working)
- Five or more regular medicines on their current list
- No HMR (MBS item 900) claimed in the last 12 months
- Not living in residential aged care (they need an RMMR instead)
To start small, put patients with a recent hospital discharge, a fall, or an upcoming 75+ health assessment or GPCCMP review at the top of the list.
Not sure how to build the search in your software? Book a 15-minute call and we'll set it up with your practice manager. It's free.
Invite them
Send the invitation from your practice's usual SMS or mail system, using your own sender name, so patients reply to you. Only message patients who have agreed to hear from your practice by SMS, and honour opt-outs.
SMS (under 160 characters)
Hi [first name], [practice name] here. You may be eligible for a free home medicines review by a pharmacist. Interested? Reply YES. Reply STOP to opt out.
Letter or email
Dear [patient name], At [practice name] we offer a free Home Medicines Review to patients who take several medicines. An accredited pharmacist visits you at home for about an hour to go through all your medicines with you: prescriptions, anything you buy from a pharmacy or supermarket, vitamins and herbal products. They check for side effects, interactions and anything that's causing you trouble, then send a report to your doctor. There is no cost to you. If you'd like one, please call us on [practice phone] or mention it at your next appointment. Your doctor will check that a review is right for you before it is arranged. Kind regards, Dr [name] [practice name]
Review the "yes" list and refer
- Once a week, give each GP the list of their patients who replied YES.
- At the next appointment (or a short booked one), the GP checks that an HMR is clinically appropriate and gets the patient's consent. Pairing it with a 75+ health assessment or GPCCMP review saves a visit.
- Refer the usual way: online in two minutes, from our template in Best Practice, MedicalDirector or Zedmed, or by phone.
We take it from there: we phone the patient within 2 business days, visit at home, and send the GP a report. See a sample report.
Make it a habit
Run the search once a month. Patients reviewed in the last 12 months drop off the list automatically, and new ones appear as their medicines change.
Questions
Call 0402 077 548 or email info@medsight.com.au, or ask us to visit. These templates are a starting point: adapt them to your practice's policies.