Dataset Information

Care Gaps in the Electronic Discharge Medication Reconciliation Process at an Acute Care Facility.

ABSTRACT: Background:Many patients experience adverse events at the time of discharge from hospital, and most of these events are medication-related. To improve patient safety, Health PEI (the health authority for Prince Edward Island) has made medication reconciliation a priority. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown is one of the few Canadian hospitals with an electronic discharge process. A discharge report has been developed to provide pertinent information to patients at discharge, including a final medication list to be shared with the community pharmacy at the patient's discretion. Objective:To identify care gaps related to the transfer of information for the medication reconciliation part of the electronic discharge process at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Methods:The study was conducted on 4 nursing units offering medical and surgical services. Data for the 8-week prospective study (June to August 2016) were collected using a study-specific discharge evaluation checklist and hospital-to-community pharmacy feedback form. All inpatients 65 years of age or older with a hospital stay longer than 4 days who were receiving more than 5 medications on discharge were eligible to participate. Results:During the study period, data were compiled for the 72 of 154 eligible patients who provided consent. Of these, 69 (96%) had a change in medications. Follow-up showed that 12 (17%) of the 72 discharge reports had reached the patient's community pharmacy; of these, 5 had been sent from a community care or long-term care facility. Fifty-four patients were discharged home, of whom 50 presented to the community pharmacy after discharge, 37 (74%) of these on the day of discharge. Conclusions:Most community pharmacies did not receive a discharge report from the patient or from the patient's community care or long-term care facility. This represented the largest care gap in the electronic discharge medication reconciliation process at the study hospital.

SUBMITTER: MacDonald K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5737185 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Care Gaps in the Electronic Discharge Medication Reconciliation Process at an Acute Care Facility.

MacDonald Kelly K Cusack Marsha M Liang Su Qiong Rebecca SQR Rinco Kilby K

The Canadian journal of hospital pharmacy 20171101 6

<h4>Background</h4>Many patients experience adverse events at the time of discharge from hospital, and most of these events are medication-related. To improve patient safety, Health PEI (the health authority for Prince Edward Island) has made medication reconciliation a priority. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown is one of the few Canadian hospitals with an electronic discharge process. A discharge report has been developed to provide pertinent information to patients at discharge, i ...[more]

PMID: 29299002

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Project description:BackgroundIt is unclear if enhanced electronic medication reconciliation systems can reduce inappropriate medication use and improve patient care. We evaluated trends in potentially inappropriate medication use after hospital discharge before and after adoption of an electronic medication reconciliation system.MethodsWe conducted an interrupted time-series analysis in 3 tertiary care hospitals in London, Ontario, using linked health care data (2011-2019). We included patients aged 66 years and older who were discharged from hospital. Starting between Apr. 13 and May 21, 2014, physicians were required to complete an electronic medication reconciliation module for each discharged patient. As a process outcome, we evaluated the proportion of patients who continued to receive a benzodiazepine, antipsychotic or gastric acid suppressant as an outpatient when these medications were first started during the hospital stay. The clinical outcome was a return to hospital within 90 days of discharge with a fall or fracture among patients who received a new benzodiazepine or antipsychotic during their hospital stay. We used segmented linear regression for the analysis.ResultsWe identified 15 932 patients with a total of 18 405 hospital discharge episodes. Before the implementation of the electronic medication reconciliation system, 16.3% of patients received a prescription for a benzodiazepine, antipsychotic or gastric acid suppressant after their hospital stay. After implementation, there was a significant and immediate 7.0% absolute decline in this proportion (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.5% to 9.5%). Before implementation, 4.1% of discharged patients who newly received a benzodiazepine or antipsychotic returned to hospital with a fracture or fall within 90 days. After implementation, there was a significant and immediate 2.3% absolute decline in this outcome (95% CI 0.3% to 4.3%).InterpretationImplementation of an electronic medication reconciliation system in 3 tertiary care hospitals reduced potentially inappropriate medication use and associated adverse events when patients transitioned back to the community. Enhanced electronic medication reconciliation systems may allow other hospitals to improve patient safety.

Project description:BackgroundMedication reconciliation (MedRec), a process to reduce medication error at care transitions, is labour- and resource-intensive and time-consuming. Use of Personal Electronic Records of Medications (PERMs) in health information systems to support MedRec have proven challenging. Relatively little is known about the design, use or implementation of PERMs at care transitions that impacts on MedRec in the 'real world'. To respond to this gap in knowledge we undertook a rapid realist review (RRR). The aim was to develop theories to explain how, why, when, where and for whom PERMs are designed, implemented or used in practice at care transitions that impacts on MedRec.MethodologyWe used realist methodology and undertook the RRR between August 2020 and February 2021. We collaborated with experts in the field to identify key themes. Articles were sourced from four databases (Pubmed, Embase, CINAHL Complete and OpenGrey) to contribute to the theory development. Quality assessment, screening and data extraction using NVivo was completed. Contexts, mechanisms and outcomes configurations were identified and synthesised. The experts considered these theories for relevance and practicality and suggested refinements.ResultsTen provisional theories were identified from 19 articles. Some theories relate to the design (T2 Inclusive design, T3 PERMs complement existing good processes, T7 Interoperability), some relate to the implementation (T5 Tailored training, T9 Positive impact of legislation or governance), some relate to use (T6 Support and on-demand training) and others relate iteratively to all stages of the process (T1 Engage stakeholders, T4 Build trust, T8 Resource investment, T10 Patients as users of PERMs).ConclusionsThis RRR has allowed additional valuable data to be extracted from existing primary research, with minimal resources, that may impact positively on future developments in this area. The theories are interdependent to a greater or lesser extent; several or all of the theories may need to be in play to collectively impact on the design, implementation or use of PERMs for MedRec at care transitions. These theories should now be incorporated into an intervention and evaluated to further test their validity.

Dataset Information

Care Gaps in the Electronic Discharge Medication Reconciliation Process at an Acute Care Facility.

Publications

Care Gaps in the Electronic Discharge Medication Reconciliation Process at an Acute Care Facility.

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