Nursing Home Medication Reconciliation: A Quality Improvement Initiative

The current quality improvement initiative evaluated the medication reconciliation process within select nursing homes in Washington, DC. The identification of common types of medication discrepancies through monthly retrospective chart reviews of newly admitted patients in two different nursing homes were described. The use of high-risk medications, namely antidiabetic, anticoagulant, and opioid agents, was also recorded. A standardized spreadsheet tool based on multiple medication reconciliation implementation tool kits was created to record the information. The five most common medication discrepancies were incorrect indication (21%), no monitoring parameters (17%), medication name omitted (11%), incorrect dose (10%), and incorrect frequency (8%). Antidiabetic agents in both sites were the most used high-risk medication. This initiative highlights that medication discrepancies on admission are common in nursing homes and may be clinically impactful. More attention needs to be given to work flow processes to improve medication reconciliation considering the increased risk for adverse drug events and hospitalizations. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing and Mental Health Services, 43(4), 9-14.].