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Articles examine medication reconciliation, patient handoffs

Case Management Weekly, May 23, 2007

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Separate articles in the May issue of Academic Emergency Medicine examine medication reconciliation and handoffs between the ED and inpatient care at the hospital.

The first article deals with the use of out-of-hospital lists to improve medication reconciliation. Such lists are made by EMS personnel as they enter a patient's home and transport him or her to the hospital. These lists are seldom used in the reconciliation process, however. The study found that although the lists are often incomplete, the information they include is generally accurate and can corroborate other data gathered.

The second article finds that patient handoffs from the ED to another hospital unit are haphazard. Most do not include needed information or do not follow a consistent pattern, which increases patients' risk.

To access the abstracts for both articles, go to www.aemj.org/content/vol14/5_Supplement_1/

Source: Hospitalist Program Weekly, HCPro, Inc.

Other articles of interest:

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