View clinical trials related to Medication Reconciliation.
Filter by:This study addresses the problem of inadequate medication reconciliation as patients cross boundaries between inpatient and outpatient care (ambulatory care). The purpose of this study is to determine whether a new, computer-based application, integrated with electronic prescribing, improves erroneous discrepancies between pre-hospital medications and medications upon patients' return to ambulatory care.
The purpose of this study is to determine if a physician's use of electronic medication reconciliation software when writing a patient's discharge prescription will prevent adverse drug events and readmissions to the hospital. This electronic medication software will provide the physician with the most up-to-date list of medications the patient was taking before being admitted to the hospital, through a real-time link to the provincial drug insurance agency's administrative databases. It will also provide the list of medications the patient has taken while admitted to the hospital. With these two pieces of information, the physician will write the discharge prescription using the medication management software, print the discharge prescription for the patient, and the software will fax a copy of any prescriptions that should be stopped to the patient's community pharmacist.
Up to 50% of medication errors and 20% of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in the hospital setting are estimated to be related to communication issues regarding patient medications at various transition points of care from admission to discharge. The Joint Commission (TJC) requires accurate and complete medication reconciliation occur at each transition point throughout hospitalization. Evidence from NQF demonstrates pharmacists (RPh) are the most effective medication management team leaders in the implementation of medication management practices and design of medication error reduction strategies; medication reconciliation is one of the five safety objectives pharmacists are recommended to lead. In addition, the Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors states strong evidence supports the use of pharmacy technicians (CPhT) in conjunction with pharmacists in completing accurate medication histories. WMC nurses (RN) currently are involved in the medication reconciliation process. In 2009, a Medication Use Evaluation (MUE) of Medication Reconciliation Accuracy found a 67% medication error rate on admission determined by comparing the nurse-obtained medication history to the pharmacist-obtained medication history. The number of home medications identified by the pharmacist compared to the nurse was 411 versus 312 (p<0.0001). The total percentage of medication errors prevented by the pharmacist was 66.2. Using the VA Healthcare Failure Mode Effects Analysis - HFMEA™ Hazard Scoring Matrix, 3 independent pharmacist reviewers found that 18% of patients interviewed had a score greater than 7, and 3 patients had a score of 12 (major/probable), if the discrepancies would not have been identified and corrected by the pharmacist conducting the admission medication reconciliation audit. The same patients' discharge medication reconciliation and discharge medication lists were retrospectively reviewed for the MUE, and the total percentage of patients with medication errors on discharge was 43%.
An incomplete understanding of patients' preadmission medications and failure to reconcile these with medications ordered in the hospital and at discharge are major, previously unappreciated, causes of adverse drug events (ADEs). The Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has now mandated a process for reconciling all medications at hospital admission and discharge. The best ways to implement medication reconciliation and the impact on patient outcomes are unknown. We, the researchers at at Brigham and Women's Hospital, will design and implement a medication reconciliation process with two major components: 1) information technology to integrate medication reconciliation into the current workflow at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH); and 2) process re-design involving physicians, nurses, and pharmacists to ensure that reconciliation takes place. We will then conduct a randomized controlled trial on the General Medical Service of BWH to evaluate the effects of this new process on reducing medication reconciliation errors with the potential to cause patient harm (potential ADEs).