Addressing meaningful use and maintaining an accurate medication list in primary care

The primary objective of this project was to determine the difference in medication list accuracy between an initial and follow-up medication reconciliation visit in a primary care office. Secondary objectives were to identify the difference in medication-related problems most commonly encountered during the visits, factors that may influence patient understanding of their medication regimen, and physician perceptions of the medication review visit.

Quasi-experimental study part of a larger pilot project to address the ability of how health information technology can be used to maintain an active medication list.

Three family medicine residency clinics in the Midwest. Adult patients with diabetes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who had 6 or more long-term medications listed in the electronic health record (EHR) were recruited to participate.

An initial comprehensive medication reconciliation visit was conducted by a resident physician and a pharmacist with the goal of ensuring an accurate, easy-to-follow, electronically developed medication list. A follow-up visit with the pharmacist occurred 3-6 months after the initial visit.

Medication list accuracy and medication-related problems were assessed at the initial and follow-up visits. Patient-related factors that could affect medication understanding were collected at the initial visit with status of enrollment in the EHR patient portal.

Fifty-seven of 65 patients completed the study. The number of patients with an accurate medication list increased from 40% to 49% (P = 0.38). The number of medication-related problems decreased from 146 to 91 (P < 0.001). The use of special tools (e.g., pillboxes) was associated with fewer medication regimen errors (P = 0.036). Patients enrolled in the EHR patient portal were more likely to know the purpose of their medications as compared with those not enrolled (P = 0.019).

An intentionally scheduled medication review with a primary care provider and pharmacist did not significantly improve the accuracy of the medication list, but it was associated with fewer drug-related problems.