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Pharmacists Reduce Medication Errors
Medication errors harm approxi- mately 1.5 million patients in the U.S. each year and occur most frequently during transitional care. Issues—in- cluding omission, contraindications and duplication, as well as errors in- volving drug-drug and drug-disease interactions—create a ripple effect for patients, providers and facilities. A patient with a sprained ankle seeking care in an emergency room may end up in the hospital’s intensive care unit due to an incomplete medication his- tory. In addition to patient harm, the error impacts quality performance metrics, reimbursement rates and potential nancial penalties. Reverse scenarios cause similar results. A patient discharged to a long-term care facility may, within 30 days, be
readmitted to the hospital due to in- accurate dosing instructions, further impacting patient health, readmission levels, quality metrics, reimbursement rates and nancial penalties.
Medication reconciliation—a two-phased process used to thwart medication-related issues—is vital to positive patient outcomes. The rst phase involves a “quali ed indi- vidual” completing a medication his- tory, a comprehensive and accurate list of medications currently taken by a patient, including over-the- counter drugs, herbal supplements and vitamins. Phase two involves comparison, or reconciliation, of the medication history to the list of medications the patient continues or discontinues to take throughout the continuum of care.
Although the process may sound
simple, complex issues can arise. Several studies show when the “quali ed person” is a physician or a nurse obtaining medication history, more errors occur than when the “quali ed person” is a pharmacist or a pharmacy technician.2
ED Comparative Study
A hospital emergency department (ED) presents a critical juncture in patient health. Obtaining a compre- hensive medication history, though vital to patient outcomes, poses challenges for busy nurses.
A three-part study conducted
by a 520-bed community academic hospital examined medication his- tories obtained by ED nurses to those taken by an ED pharmacy technician, who was under the supervision of
a pharmacist. The 47-bed ED aver-
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Medication errors harm approximately 1.5 million patients in the U.S. each year and occur most frequently during transitional care.