Development of a drug distribution support device and survey of medication management burden on group home staff

In Japan, the mean time spent on preparing and administering medications each day for everyone in care facilities has been reported to be 163 min. Most caregivers that administer medications to the elderly in care facilities have reported that this responsibility is a burden. We developed a drug distribution support device (DDSD) for caregivers, which was then installed in a group home and a 3-month monitoring experiment was conducted. Caregivers then answered a questionnaire survey on medication management burden pre- and post-DDSD use. The caregivers reported no difficulties associated with medication distribution using DDSD. The DDSD reduced the daily dispensing duration by an average of 3.5 min. The questionnaire survey showed no differences in items related to the reduction of errors, and the Family Caregiver Medication Administration Hassles Scale showed no reduction of burden on caregivers. However, whether the DDSD reduces medication management burden remains undetermined.