Related Experiment Videos
Reconcilable differences: correcting medication errors at hospital admission and discharge.
T Vira1, M Colquhoun, E Etchells
1Markham Stouffville Hospital, Markham, ON, Canada L3R 7E8; tasnim.vira@utoronto.ca
Quality & Safety in Health Care
|April 6, 2006
Summary
Medication reconciliation effectively identifies and corrects medication errors during hospital transitions, preventing patient harm. This process is crucial for improving patient safety at admission and discharge.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacovigilance
- Patient Safety
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Medication errors frequently occur during hospital admission and discharge.
- These errors can lead to preventable adverse drug events.
- A medication reconciliation process aims to identify and rectify these errors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of a medication reconciliation process.
- To identify and rectify medication errors at hospital admission and discharge.
Main Methods:
- Prospective enrollment of 60 patients in a Canadian community hospital.
- Comparison of patient medication orders with pre-admission medication use via vials and interviews.
- Comparison of pre-admission and in-patient medications with discharge orders and instructions.
- Classification of variances as intended or unintended (medication errors) and assessment of clinical importance.
Main Results:
- 60% of patients experienced unintended medication variances.
- 18% had clinically important unintended variances.
- Medication reconciliation intercepted 75% of clinically important variances before patient harm.
Conclusions:
- Unintended medication variances are common and clinically significant at hospital transitions.
- Medication reconciliation successfully identified and addressed most errors, preventing harm.
- Medication reconciliation is a valuable tool for improving safety during care transitions.