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. 2016 Jan-Mar;14(1):656.
doi: 10.18549/PharmPract.2016.01.656. Epub 2016 Mar 15.

Medication reconciliation at patient admission: a randomized controlled trial

Antonio E Mendes  1 , Natália F Lombardi  2 , Vânia S Andrzejevski  3 , Gibran Frandoloso  4 , Cassyano J Correr  5 , Mauricio Carvalho  6
Affiliations

Medication reconciliation at patient admission: a randomized controlled trial

Antonio E Mendes et al. Pharm Pract (Granada). 2016 Jan-Mar.

Abstract

Objective: To measure length of hospital stay (LHS) in patients receiving medication reconciliation. Secondary characteristics included analysis of number of preadmission medications, medications prescribed at admission, number of discrepancies, and pharmacists interventions done and accepted by the attending physician.

Methods: A 6 month, randomized, controlled trial conducted at a public teaching hospital in southern Brazil. Patients admitted to general wards were randomized to receive usual care or medication reconciliation, performed within the first 72 hours of hospital admission.

Results: The randomization process assigned 68 patients to UC and 65 to MR. LHS was 10±15 days in usual care and 9±16 days in medication reconciliation (p=0.620). The total number of discrepancies was 327 in the medication reconciliation group, comprising 52.6% of unintentional discrepancies. Physicians accepted approximately 75.0% of the interventions.

Conclusion: These results highlight weakness at patient transition care levels in a public teaching hospital. LHS, the primary outcome, should be further investigated in larger studies. Medication reconciliation was well accepted by physicians and it is a useful tool to find and correct discrepancies, minimizing the risk of adverse drug events and improving patient safety.

Keywords: Brazil; Medication Reconciliation; Pharmaceutical Services; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

No potential conflict of interest or financial disclosures relevant to this article were reported by any of the authors.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Description of Medication Reconciliation. * BPMH - Best Possible Medication History
Figure 2
Figure 2
Study flow diagram
Figure 3
Figure 3
Discrepancies and Interventions in Medication Reconciliation Group
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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