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Impact of students pharmacists on the medication reconciliation process in high-risk hospitalized general medicine patients.
Am J Pharm Educ. 2014 Mar 12;78(2):34
Authors: Lancaster JW, Grgurich PE
Abstract
UNLABELLED: OBJECTIVE" To compare the accuracy of medication lists obtained by student pharmacists, nurses, and physicians, and quantify the number of discrepancies identified as part of the medication reconciliation process.
METHODS: Between May and July 2012, patients admitted to an internal medicine team at a 350-bed tertiary academic medical center were assessed for inclusion in the study. Physicians and/or nurses conducted medication reviews for these patients at the time of admission, while student pharmacists conducted medication reconciliation.
RESULTS: Eighty-six patients were assessed, and 52 met all inclusion criteria. A total of 268 discrepancies were identified as part of the medication reconciliation performed by the student pharmacists, approximating 5 discrepancies per patient (range 0-13). Student pharmacists identified 532 preadmission medications, significantly more than did nurses (355) or physicians (368), p=0.006.
CONCLUSION: Student pharmacists, with appropriate oversight, can be used in several tasks that previously may have been designated to pharmacists only, such as medication reconciliation.
PMID: 24672067 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]