Bmc Health Serv Res
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Aug 2015
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyThe effect on potential adverse drug events of a pharmacist-acquired medication history in an emergency department: a multicentre, double-blind, randomised, controlled, parallel-group study.
Potential adverse drug events (PADEs) are defined as being potentially harmful unintentional medication discrepancies. Discrepancies regarding medication history (MH) often occur when a patient is being admitted to a hospital's emergency department (ED); they are clinically important and represent a significant source of data regarding adverse drug events occurring during emergency admission to hospital. This study sought to measure the impact of pharmacist-acquired MH during admission to an ED; it focused on whether a patient's current home medication regimen being available for a doctor when consulting a patient in an ED would have reduced potential adverse drug events. ⋯ Many patients suffer potentially adverse drugs events during the transition of care from home to a hospital. Patient safety-focused medication reconciliation during admission to an ED involving a pharmacist and drawing up a history of complete medication could contribute towards reducing the risk of PADES occurring and improve follow-up of patients' medication-based therapy.