Variation in medication information for elderly patients during initial interventions by emergency department physicians

Abstract

A pilot study demonstrated that approximately one third of elderly patients' medication information available to the ED physician at the time of the initial diagnostic and therapeutic intervention differed from that obtainable from outside caregivers.

Pharmacist- versus physician-acquired medication history: a prospective study at the emergency department

“…Moreover, when non-prescription drugs are included, as in our study, the frequency of discrepancies is even higher 1 2 4 6 7 10. When summarising prospective studies for incompleteness of medication histories obtained in the ED, literature results concur with our findings, as shown in table 3 1 7 8 11 12…”

Pharmacy led medicine reconciliation at hospital: A systematic review of effects and costs

“…The investigators describe a random component in the sequence generation process 2 The description of the sequence generation involve some systematic but non-random approach 3 Insufficient information permit judgment of 'Low risk' or 'High risk'…”

“…Poor communication of clinical information at healthcare transitions is 32 responsible for over 50% of all medication errors and up to 20% of adverse events. [1][2][3][4] …”

“…5,6 .It is 36 also estimated that 12% of adverse drug events upon hospital admission were 37 related to medicine use and that each adverse event increase hospital stay by 8.5 38 days on average.. 3,7 …”

Potential of Telemedicine to Provide Acute Medical Care for Adults in Senior Living Communities

“…[33][34][35] Finally, ambulance transport and ED care are expensive. 36 Another important consideration, particularly in this population, is the goal of care.…”