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Get 'behind the list' with med reconciliation

Pharmacy Regulation Resource, September 15, 2004

Physicians and nurses aren't the only ones who need to comply with the new National Patient Safety Goal requiring the reconciliation of a patient's medications. Pharmacists will play an integral compliance role by obtaining and evaluating a patient's medication list.

The new Goal #8 requires organizations to develop a process to obtain and document a list of the patient's current medications upon admission, and the organization must involve the patient in the process. Staff must send the list to the next healthcare provider when the patient is transferred or referred for more treatment.

Pharmacists can bring their knowledge of medications to the table to help the organization comply with this goal.

Some hospitals have pharmacists conduct admission interviews to gather information about a patient's medications, says Carolyn Ma, PharmD, an independent pharmacy consultant. The pharmacist's role in medication reconciliation could be even more important if a patient is admitted to the hospital for drug-related issues, such as an overdose, she says.

Tip: Compare your medication list for the patient to the physician's medication list if your hospital involves pharmacists in the reconciliation process.

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