Randomized Pilot Trial of the Impact of Bedside Delivery of Discharge Medications to Pediatric Patients With Asthma
Randomized Pilot Trial of the Impact of Bedside Delivery of Discharge Medications to Pediatric Patients With Asthma
This randomized pilot study proposes to field-test key logistical aspects of studying an
 intervention already available to patients on the pediatric ward, namely a discharge
 medication delivery service, called "Meds-in-Hand," which has been refined via a quality
 improvement process, but not rigorously studied nor fully implemented.
At this time, Meds-in-Hand is not currently utilized for approximately 40% of patients
 admitted to the pediatric ward at Boston Medical Center. Currently patients do not receive
 their discharge medications via the delivery service for a variety of reasons, however they
 continue to receive the usual care standard employed by most hospitals, where prescriptions
 are sent to their home pharmacy for pickup after discharge. This study does not change the
 actual medications patients receive, but how and when they get them. Rigorous study of the
 relationship between Meds-in-Hand and patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes has not been
 performed to date, so there is equipoise about the value of the intervention, however
 observational data in the population in question, namely children admitted for an asthma
 exacerbation, suggest that patients who receive Meds-in-Hand prior to discharge have a
 reduced likelihood of a return visit to the Emergency Department in 30 days. The study will
 focus on parent-patient dyads admitted with an asthma exacerbation where the child is aged
 2-17 years, however parents will be the exclusive study subjects. Parents of the patients
 will be asked a baseline, in-hospital survey as well as participate in phone follow-up
 interviews to report on the patient experience and parent-reported child health outcomes at
 approximately 3 and 30 days after leaving the hospital. 60 total parents will be enrolled, 30
 in each arm of the study. This pilot study will also obtain empiric estimates of key study
 parameters to inform future study design and begin to examine trends between the groups of
 patients who are randomized to the Meds-in-Hand intervention and those randomized to usual
 care.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  admission includes treatment for asthma exacerbation

 -  discharge medications will require a new prescription

 -  primary care taker speaks english or spanish

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  patients being discharge outside of the operating hours of the delivery service