Improving Medication Reconciliation on the Surgical Wards of a District General Hospital

Abstract

During a routine audit it was noted that the surgical wards were consistently underperforming in their rate of medicines reconciliation in comparison to other specialities. The process of medication reconciliation is usually performed by junior doctors during the admission process and can be a complex task which is usually undertaken in the midst of several other jobs. The aim of this project was to review this process and identify methods of improving patient safety. This led to the design of a surgical admissions proforma which incorporated a 'medications on admission' section, to be used for reconciliation. Over a six month period from its introduction into a pilot ward it was noted to improve medication reconciliation from 60% to 85%. The benefits were discussed with members of the trust and a standardised version of the admissions proforma has since been rolled out to all hospitals within the trust.