Recent News about The MED

Medication Reconciliation

Medication Reconciliation is one of the National Patient Safety Goals recommended by JCAHO and adopted by The MED. Medication reconciliation is the process of identifying an accurate list of medications that patients are taking at home and comparing that list with the physician’s admission, transfer, and discharge orders. New forms have been developed and implemented.

According to Cathy Moore, medication safety coordinator, patients seeking care at The MED are receiving more informed care as a result of checking the medications previously taken at home. Moore says the process is about improving communication and is an important safety issue. “By implementing medication reconciliation we are making sure that a patient’s home medications are taken into consideration. The process avoids medication duplication, assists with adjustments, and helps to avoid drug interaction problems,” she explained.

Two weeks into the implementation, physicians and nursing staff are already seeing improvement in communication. An audit conducted just ten days into the implementation revealed that almost 95% of admission charts contained medication reconciliation forms.

Although the initial rollout of the program is a success, additional improvements are planned. Moore explained, “We are continually monitoring the process closely for compliance and for opportunities for improvement. In the future we plan to move away from the paper form toward an electronic form.”

It’s important for physician and nursing staff to continue to put forth the effort to reach 100% compliance. “By checking and rechecking prescribed medications, we are improving the communication process and ultimately improving the safety and the health of our patients,” she said.

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