Pharmacists Serving as “Recon Agents” to Improve Patient Safety

1.  B u s i n e s s i ? e d Simplify Your Business Online! Contact Us Member Login Get Listed Today  Visit the original source : https://www.businessified.com/blog/pharmacists-serving-as-%E2%80%9Crecon-agents%E2%80%9D-to-improve-patient-safety Name or Keyword  City or Post Code  Search / Pharmacists Serving as “Recon Agents” to Improve Patient Safety Home / Blog Posted By on 11/26/2019 in Category 1  Pharmacists Serving as “Recon Agents” to Improve Patient Safety For medication-related problems, commonly referred to MRPs, pharmacists are becoming a valuable solution. In their role, pharmacists can serve as recon agents in the fight to improve patient safety. MRPs are putting patients at risk, especially those admitted into hospitals. Although admissions sta?, doctors, and nurses do what they can, pharmacists have a unique opportunity to perform medication reconciliation. By maintaining accurate records of drugs prescribed, the outcome for patient safety improves dramatically. Identifying the Problem Pharmacists have a signi?cant advantage over other healthcare professionals in that while ?lling prescriptions, they can correctly identify more outpatient medications. While doctors and nurses focus on making accurate diagnoses and providing the right treatments, pharmacists efficiently monitor a patient’s use of medication, especially in a hospital setting. As part of their duties, pharmacists typically rely on a minimum of two sources when gathering data on medication history compiled by a pharmacy database, which is vital considering that 38 percent of patients cannot provide complete information. By following the medication reconciliation processes, pharmacists identi?ed discrepancies in one of every ?ve drugs reviewed. That alone shows their roles as recon agents in battling MRPs is critical. Making Changes The combination of pharmacist medication reconciliation and counseling at the time of discharge resulted in a 16 percent reduction in the number of emergency room visits by older adults in high-risk categories and 30-day drug-related admissions. Of 54 readmissions relating to drugs as part of suboptimal therapy, 83.3 percent received no pharmacist care at the time of their earlier hospitalization. That statistic indicates that for lowering the cost of healthcare, it is imperative to reduce the number of emergency room visits and hospital admissions. With pharmacist counseling at the time of discharge, preventable adverse drug events, or ADEs, also declined. Of the patients who received a medication review, 49 percent had at least one unexplained discrepancy between the drugs prescribed before getting admitted

2. and the time of discharge. Overall, patients in a pharmacist care group had a substantially lower rate of preventable ADEs 30 days following their discharge. Included in the errors that lead to preventable ADEs are discrepancies but also non-adherence to prescription medication orders and inappropriate medication dosage. Staying on Top of the Problem To reduce the number of MRPs following discharge in an outpatient setting, the proper transition of care service is essential. Even with the frequency of detected MRPs declining, pharmacists still saw an average of one to two MPRs in outpatient clinic care settings. Two risk factors for MRPs include medications that require monitoring and the patient’s age. However, roughly 63 percent of MRPs were the result of the patient not following the prescribed orders. For acute care settings, pharmacist intervention is crucial for improving the patient’s outcome in both outpatient and inpatient settings. Determining the Impact When it comes to reducing the occurrences of hospital readmission, pharmacists play a critical role. Their experience coupled with specialized training allows them to perform both medication reconciliation and counseling when patients get discharged from hospitals. As recon agents, they help improve patient safety. Pharmacy database online pharmacy database Canadian pharmacy phone number Contact This Member Share This Page  Share Join Our Newsletter Enter your email address Subscribe Now About Finding Local Business Directories is easy by searching our trusted network of top-rated Local Business Directories. Website How It Works List Your Business Search Browse Categories Browse Locations Support Password Retrieval Contact Us    