Date of Conferral

12-4-2024

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Terese Verklan

Abstract

The quality improvement (QI) project targeted patients with bipolar depression, aged 20–50 years, in an outpatient mental health setting who had the problem of nonadherence to medication. Medication nonadherence is a major concern in nursing practice that impacts clinical effectiveness, overall treatment outcomes, and healthcare cost implications. The project evaluated whether the outcome, timely refill rates of prescription medication, was impacted by the psychoeducation that was conducted outside the scope of the project. The project question was, “What is the impact of patient psychoeducation to improve timely refill rates among patients with bipolar depression aged 20–50 years in an outpatient mental health setting?” A comparative analysis of the medication refill rates before and after intervention was conducted to determine its effectiveness. De-identified patient data from medical records were obtained from the office manager for the 3 months before and after the psychoeducation to determine patients’ medication refill rates as a reflection of their medication adherence. Results indicated a decrease in the number of patients who did not adhere to their medication from 8 per month before the intervention to 2 per month post-intervention. The main recommendations of the project include to streamline the refill process by allowing refills online or by phone and continue with patients’ medication adherence counseling on how to adhere to their medication regimen for 6 months to ensure timely refill rates. The project also promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion by tailoring interventions to meet the definite needs of the patient population with bipolar depression.

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