Drug Topics - November 26, 2007 - (Page 6)

6 DRUG TOPICS NOVEMBER 26, 2007 www.drugtopics.com Of Interest to Pharmacists Medication reconciliation policies incomplete at many hospitals Michael Barbella verall, most hospital pharmacists think their institutions do a good job of reconciling patients’ medications. But two out of 10 know of incidents in which inadequate policies have led to patient harm, an exclusive Drug Topics survey concluded. In many cases, respondents said their hospital’s policies failed to catch a duplication of medication or missing doses, the survey found. In other instances, medications were omitted or there was no follow-up. And several respondents blamed their hospital’s shoddy medication reconciliation policy on inadequate staffing. O Medication reconciliation “was done late in the evening when staffing was less than earlier in the day,” one pharmacist wrote. “Patients being admitted during shift changes resulted in late med reconciliation, or it not being done at all.” Another health-system R.Ph simply stated, “Took too long to reconcile home meds.” Drug Topics conducted the nationwide survey of hospital pharmacists from Sept. 27 through Oct. 10. The survey was sent to 12,105 subscribers of the magazine; 640 pharmacists responded. Seven percent of those who responded said the Joint Commission found fault with the way their hos- National Patient Safety Goal 8: Accurately and completely reconcile medications accross the continuum of care Wash. Mont. Ore. Idaho Wyo. Nev. Utah Calif. Colo. Neb. Kan. Okla. Iowa Ill. Mo. Ind. Ohio Va. Ky. Tenn. Ala. Ga. N.C. S.C. Miss. La. Fla. S.D. N.D. Minn. Wis. Mich. Pa. W.Va. Maine Vt. N.Y. N.H. Mass. R.I. Conn. N.J. Del. Md. D.C. Ariz. N.M. Ark. Alaska Hawaii Texas Source: The Joint Commission 100% 91% to 99.9% 90% No survey taken http://www.drugtopics.com

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Drug Topics - November 26, 2007 Contents Cough & Cold Recommendations May Impact Other Products More Novelty OTCs Elbow Onto Store Shelves Medication Reconciliation Policies Incomplete at Many Hospitals Hospitals Regress in Reconciling Drugs in 2006 Latest News Roundup

Drug Topics - November 26, 2007

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