Comprehensive medication review: development of a collaborative procedure

This commentary describes the development and evidence-base of the Comprehensive Medication Review (CMR) procedure for community and hospital settings in Finland. The development was coordinated by a national steering group. The group collaborated with 26 experienced pharmacists who developed and tested CMR procedures during a 1.5 year accreditation training for CMR. The development consisted of: (1) a literature review and inventory of medication review procedures in different countries; (2) the creation of potential procedures and related documentation; (3) integration of potential procedures into a national standard procedure; and (4) piloting the standard procedure in practice settings. The resulting comprehensive medication review procedure requires access to a patient’s clinical information, an inhome patient interview and a case conference with the collaborating physician. This procedure covers the four main dimensions critical for safe and appropriate geriatric pharmacotherapy: aging and safety; co-morbidities; polypharmacy; and adherence. The CMR measures and documentation build on these dimensions.