Effectiveness of Clinical Pharmacists-Led Medication Reconciliation to Prevent Medication Discrepancies in Hospitalized Patients: A Non-Randomized Controlled Trial.

Abstract

Aim: Medication discrepancies are a major safety concern for hospitalized patients and healthcare professionals. Medication Reconciliation (MR) is a widely used tool in different practice settings to ensure the proper use of medications.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the clinical pharmacists-led MR process in identifying, preventing, and resolving medication discrepancies among hospitalized patients.

Patients and methods: This was a prospective study with an observational and interventional part, conducted at the Internal Medicine Department of a tertiary Hospital in Sudan from January to September 2023. The enrolled patients were divided into two groups, the observation group, in which the routine MR process was performed by doctors (usual care), and the intervention group, in which clinical pharmacists led the MR process.

Results: Compared to the usual care, the clinical pharmacists were more efficient in identifying and preventing medication discrepancies (P=0.001). From a total of 1012 medications, clinical pharmacists' interventions contributed to the detection of (39%) equivalent to 2.2 discrepancies per patient, resolving 325 (83%) and preventing (55%) clinically significant discrepancies. Dose discrepancy (43%) was the most common type of identified discrepancies. These interventions were accepted by (98%) of doctors and implemented in (86%) of the total cases. The main predictors of medication discrepancies (P ≤0.05) for patients were the length of hospital stay, patient-hospital transfer, high number of medication histories, and increased number of medications used during hospitalization.

Conclusion: Through the implementation of the MR process, the clinical pharmacist's interventions substantially contributed to the detection and resolution of medication discrepancies among hospitalized patients. It is recommended that this intervention be disseminated in more hospitals in Sudan to encourage the implementation of appropriate practices.