The Medication Guidelines for the Home and Community Support Services Sector aim to guide HCSS providers in providing medication support for people at home. The Guidelines reflect the Home and Community Support Sector Standard (NZS 8158:2012), and are based on current evidence of best practice and relevant legislation. They should serve as a reference tool for HCSS providers, to support safe medication practice, policies and processes.
The Guidelines align with the recommendations of a literature review commissioned by the Home and Community Health Association on the role of home support workers (HSWs) in medication support (Roy and McKechnie 2016). The Ministry of Health’s Medicines Care Guides for Residential Aged Care (Ministry of Health 2011) guided the structure, to provide consistency; however, the content of these Guidelines is specific to the HCSS sector. The Guidelines do not replace sound clinical judgement.