[Medication reconciliation: Interests and limits]

Abstract

Admission to hospital is a critical transition point for the continuity of care in medication management. Medication reconciliation can identify and resolve errors due to inaccurate medication histories. The practice of medication reconciliation is securing for the patient because of the medication errors detected with significant clinical impact. Its implementation must comply with the recommendations of the French National Authority for Health (HAS) and its deployment is now integrated into the contract for improving the quality and efficiency of care (CAQES). However, although it allows to intercept medication errors, its impact on the length of hospitalization, the rate of readmission and/or death following discharge seems limited. Given the limited human resources to carry out this time-consuming activity, patient prioritization should be considered. Studies on the fate of patients and on the medico-economic issues are also necessary in order to make this activity sustainable.

Keywords: Best possible medication history; Bilan médicamenteux; Clinical pharmacy; Community–hospital link; Divergences médicamenteuses; Drug management; Erreur médicamenteuse; Lien ville–hôpital; Medication discrepancies; Medication error; Pharmacie clinique; Prise en charge médicamenteuse.