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Hospital improves medication reconciliation compliance by improving past practices

Accreditation Connection, February 22, 2008

Mandatory training programs, leadership involvement, and frequent audits helped Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago increase its medication reconciliation compliance more than 60% in some areas, such as inpatient admissions. Currently, in all units, medication reconciliation is above The Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO) standard of 90%. Not only that, but when evaluated, it was found that compliance had a direct effect in lowering potential patient harm.

Molly McDaniel, PharmD, former quality leader for patient safety at Northwestern, was involved in a research grant regarding medication reconciliation at the hospital supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. McDaniel served as a speaker at the December 2007 HCPro audioconference "Medication Reconciliation Update: Must-haves for Joint Commission compliance in 2008."

Taking a close look at the hospital's medication reconciliation practices, McDaniel found Northwestern's patient histories, like many other hospitals, were obtained by multiple clinicians and documented at various places on the medical record. She also learned that 86% of 651 general medicine patients had medicine discrepancies that originated in the patients' histories.

Access the full story in the February issue of Briefings on The Joint Commission. Access is free for BOJ subscribers; nonsubscribers can purchase a copy of the story for $10 by clicking here.

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