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What Is “Medication Reconciliation”?
Preventing adverse drug events is a key element in providing patient safety through the safe use of medication administration to patients and one component in preventing adverse drug events is to create and update an accurate listing of medications.
Medication reconciliation is the term referred to as the process of creating an accurate list of all medications a patient is taking. A medication reconciliation form generally includes items such as: drug name, dosage, frequency, and route. The medication form is compared against the physician’s admission, transfer, and discharge orders. The goal is to provide the correct medications to every patient throughout their stay within the hospital.
At St. Edward Mercy each time a patient moves from one setting to another, the physician reviews the previous medication list alongside new orders and reconciles any differences.
Potential Impact of Medication Reconciliation
The reconciling process has been demonstrated to:
- Reduce medication errors
- Reduce work and re-work associated with medication orders and the admission process.
You can help in this process by clicking here and printing off a medication list you can use in your home. To ensure the form’s accuracy, please bring the form each time you visit your physician and together go through the listing of medications. Later, if you’re ever referred for a hospital stay or have to come into the emergency room, you can bring the list and provide your care-giver the critical information they need to treat you.
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