How to improve medication safety at hospital discharge: let’s get practical

Abstract

The hospital discharge transition is a well-known risk factor for medication-related harm. The Royal College of Physicians have created an improvement guide and resource, focusing on medication safety at hospital discharge. In this article, we discuss how we developed this resource and explore some of the lessons learnt, including the importance of involving patients and carers; understanding the discharge medicines system; appreciating everyone's roles; measuring medication safety, project spread and sustainability; and the pros and cons of a virtual working environment.