Discharge report for the community pharmacist: Development and validation of a prototype

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy practice
• Health informatics
• Patient safety

Background:

• Community pharmacist involvement in continuity of care is recognized.
• Information exchange between hospitals and community pharmacists post-discharge is not standard practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an evidence-based discharge report prototype for community pharmacists.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of guidelines and initiatives to create a preliminary report.
• Semi-structured interviews with community pharmacists and general practitioners for content optimization.

Main Results:

• Identified 49 potential elements for discharge documents from literature and initiatives.
• Developed a final prototype report with administrative, medication, and medical data categories.
• Optimized content based on expert interviews regarding crucial patient safety information.

Conclusions:

• An evidence-based discharge report prototype for community pharmacists was successfully created.
• The prototype integrates essential administrative, medication, and medical data for improved information exchange.