Olga Fedorowicz, Marta Tusińska, Ewa Jaźwińska-Tarnawska

The role of a pharmacist in the medication reconciliation process
2018-11-30

DOI: 10.32383/farmpol/118636

Medicament conciliation is a crucial strategy in reducing common and potentially harmful drug administration errors. This process is aimed at creating a complete list of drugs taken by a patient, which should be provided to medical staff at all stages of conveying the patient care. The goal of this paper was to show the need for implementing the medicament conciliation process and the role played there by a pharmacist. Data was collected from patients admitted to two wards in one of Lower Silesian hospitals, by means of the questionnaire interview on pre-hospitalization pharmacotherapy. To identify drug discrepancies, this data was compared with information obtained in simultaneously conducted medical interview. The trial exposed discrepancies in information on patient’s pharmacotherapy, critical to therapy safety. Collected data indicate the need for patient education on their pharmacotherapy because of their low comprehension of the subject. Medicament conciliation by a pharmacist could be a way to improve the therapy safety.

Keywords: medication reconciliation, pharmacist, medication discrepancies, hospital, medical history.

© Farm Pol, 2018, 74(11): 655-662