Ruth James
Hywel Dda University Health Board
There is a significant risk that patient’s medicines will be unintentionally altered across care providers, which can impact on patient safety 1.
As pharmacy teams in hospital lead on medication-related aspects of hospital discharges, the integration of clinical pharmacists into GP practice enables a similar service undertaking medication reconciliation to be developed in Primary Care, ensuring no unintentional changes are made to patient’s medication and delivering continuity of care on transfer across care settings 2.
Safe systems to manage information and supply of medicines across care providers are central to safe, high quality care 3.
The Project:
Undertake medication reconciliation for patients discharged from Medical teams at Withybush General Hospital registered to participating practices in North Pembrokeshire Cluster, in line with Welsh Pharmaceutical Council goal that by 2030 all patients that transfer from one care setting to another, will receive formal review of their medicines from the pharmacy team.
Project Outcomes:
- Identification of critical prescribing errors in secondary care, and prevention of repetition in general practice
- Reduction in number of patients accessing medication that has not been updated following changes in Secondary Care
- Release Clinician time in Practice
- Identification of common themes that may contribute to medication errors when patients move between care-settings.
-
World Health Organisation Medication safety in transitions of care 2019
- Welsh Pharmaceutical Council Pharmacy: Delivering a Healthier Wales. April 2019
- Care Quality Commission Guidance about compliance: Essential standards of Quality and Safety March 2010
