Evaluation of a Web-Based Medication Reconciliation Application Within a Primary Care Setting: Cluster-Randomized...

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Patient Safety
• Clinical Decision Support

Background:

• Patient medication lists are often inaccurate due to challenges in reconciling data from various sources.
• Advances in interoperability and digital data collection offer potential solutions for integrating disparate information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness and patient satisfaction of MedTrue (MT), an electronic health record (EHR)-integrated web-based medication reconciliation application.

Main Methods:

• A cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted in 6 primary care clinics.
• Medication list accuracy was assessed using a pharmacist-collected best-possible medication history (BPMH).
• Patient and staff perspectives were gathered through surveys and interviews.

Main Results:

• Medication list accuracy did not significantly differ between the MT group and usual care (UC) group (8 vs 9 zero discrepancies).
• The most common discrepancy was patients no longer taking a medication.
• Patients reported high satisfaction with MT (average net promoter score=8/10), while staff found it beneficial but difficult to implement.

Conclusions:

• The EHR-integrated MT application did not improve medication list accuracy compared to usual care.
• The application was well-received by patients, indicating user-friendliness.
• Future research should focus on application limitations and implementation strategies to enhance effectiveness.