Medication reconciliation practices by a pharmacist at a private hospital in gauteng

© 2018 Rasgo Editorial S.A. All rights reserved. Introduction: Medication reconciliation is a strategy to reduce medication errors and thereby decrease adverse drug events (ADE), which are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. More than 50% of ADE are preventable. Medication reconciliation performed by a pharmacist at admission and discharge resulted in a 47% decrease in emergency department visits and an 80% decrease in drug related readmissions in the 12 months following discharge. The main aim of the study was to describe the interventions and outcome of a pharmacist-mediated medication reconciliation on admission and discharge in a private hospital medical ward. Method: The study was conducted at a 214 bed multi-disciplinary private hospital facility in Gauteng, South Africa over six months. The study followed a prospective quantitative, cross-sectional interventional design and was performed in a 36 bed medical ward. There was no control group for the study. Results: Two hundred patients (female = 71%; male = 29%) were included in the study. One thousand and one interventions were made during the study period (Admission: 677; Discharge: 677). The average time taken for the service on admission and discharge was 29.31 minutes per patient and cost $7.06 per patient. The cost savings generated by this service for the study period were $202, 353. Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrate the benefits of a pharmacist performing medication reconciliation at admission and discharge. The cost-savings demonstrated by this study justifies the time invested in providing this service.