November 22, 2012:
Eliminating Harmful Medication Errors at Transitions:Medication Reconciliation – A National Priority
Reducing medication-related errors is a priority for advancing safe, high-quality health care in Canada. In early November 2012, Accreditation Canada, the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI), and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada (ISMP Canada) released a report entitled Medication Reconciliation in Canada: Raising the Bar which describes an important approach to reducing such errors.Medication reconciliation is the formal process of identifying a complete and accurate list of the medications that a particular patient is taking and then using that list to ensure that the patient continues to receive appropriate medications at each transition of care. This new report identifies populations at high risk of experiencing medication-related errors and effective approaches to medication reconciliation, as well as the challenges of, trends in, and advances toward ensuring that drug-related errors are avoided.
The following are some of the insights included in the report:
- One quarter of seniors have 3 or more chronic conditions, many of which must be treated with multiple medications. These seniors are at higher risk of adverse events related to medication use and unplanned visits to emergency departments and hospitals.
- Of the 288 health care organizations surveyed by Accreditation Canada in 2011, only 60% had a process for medication reconciliation at admission, and only 50% had a process for medication reconciliation at transfer or discharge.
- Medication reconciliation practices showed the highest improvement from 2010 to 2011, yet this aspect of care continues to represent one of the greatest challenges to overall patient safety.
- The National Medication Reconciliation Strategy, co-led by CPSI and ISMP Canada, supports the development of a curriculum for health care practitioners, and has created tools, resources, and technology supports, including medication checklists, an interactive web-based map of innovative medication reconciliation resources by region, and a mobile app to help patients better manage their own medications.
More information about medication reconciliation is available from ISMP Canada at http:www.ismp-canada.org/medrec
The full report is available from ISMP Canada in both English and French.
