Improving Accuracy of Medication Reconciliation for Hospitalized Children: A Quality Project

Medication reconciliation is a complex, but necessary, process to prevent patient harm from medication discrepancies. Locally, the steps of medication reconciliation are completed consistently; however, medication errors still occur, which suggest process inaccuracies. We focused on removal of unnecessary medications as a proxy for accuracy. The primary aim was to increase the percentage of patients admitted to the pediatric hospital medicine service with at least 1 medication removed from the home medication list by 10% during the hospital stay by June of 2022.

Using the Model for Improvement, a multidisciplinary team was formed at a children's hospital, a survey was completed, and multiple Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles were done focusing on: 1. simplifying electronic health record processes by making it easier to remove medications; 2. continuous resident education about the electronic health record processes to improve efficiency and address knowledge gaps; and 3. auditing charts and real-time feedback. Data were monitored with statistical process control charts.

The project exceeded the goal, improving from 35% to 48% of patients having at least 1 medication removed from their home medication list. Improvement has sustained for 12 months.

The combination of interventions including simplifying workflow, improving education, and enhancing accountability resulted in more patients with medications removed from their home medication list.