[Medication reconciliation at discharge in a psychogeriatric unit]

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Medicine
• Clinical Pharmacy
• Health Services Research

Context:

• Psychogeriatric units in medium-stay hospitals face challenges with medication management at discharge.
• Ensuring medication accuracy for elderly patients with complex needs is crucial for patient safety and outcomes.

Purpose:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary team-led medication reconciliation process at hospital discharge.
• To assess the impact on medication errors, prescription patterns, and healthcare costs in psychogeriatric patients.

Summary:

• A quasi-experimental study compared a control group (CG) with an intervention group (IG) receiving enhanced medication reconciliation.
• The intervention group showed a significant decrease in medication reconciliation errors per patient (p=0.024) and a lower percentage of patients with errors (37% vs. 55.2%).
• The intervention also reduced the number of chronic prescriptions (p=0.006) and the Drug Burden Index (DBI) (p=0.032).

Impact:

• The study demonstrated a reduction in medication reconciliation errors and improved patient safety.
• The intervention resulted in a 6.94% cost saving, averaging €8.34 per patient per month.
• Enhanced medication reconciliation at discharge improves healthcare quality and economic efficiency in psychogeriatric care.