Safer medication use for older adults during hospital-to-home transitions
Patient-Driven Medication Safety Learning Laboratory in Care Transitions
This project will create and test patient-centered ways to reduce medication mistakes when older adults leave the hospital and return home.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | State University of New York at Buffalo NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Amherst, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11101112 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You will be invited to share your experiences and help map where medication problems happen during hospital stays and after discharge. The team will work with patients, caregivers, and clinicians to co-design practical fixes using human-centered and systems-engineering methods. Proposed solutions will be tried first in a simulation lab with clinician and patient input, and then piloted in real hospital-to-home transitions. Feedback from these pilots will be used to refine tools and processes so they can be scaled to other hospitals.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are older adults being discharged from the hospital and their caregivers, especially those taking multiple prescription medicines or facing medication changes during admission.
Not a fit: People who are not recently hospitalized, who do not manage multiple medications, or who cannot take part in workshops or simulations may not see direct benefit from participation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lower medication errors and help older adults feel safer and more confident managing medicines after discharge.
How similar studies have performed: Human-centered design and transition-of-care programs have shown some success in reducing medication problems, but scalable solutions specifically targeting older adults during transitions remain limited.
Where this research is happening
Amherst, United States
- State University of New York at Buffalo — Amherst, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Singh, Ranjit — State University of New York at Buffalo
- Study coordinator: Singh, Ranjit
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.