Effective inpatient medication reconciliation: The 10 commandments

Hosp Pract (1995). 2015;43(2):65-9. doi: 10.1080/21548331.2015.1023159. Epub 2015 Mar 10.

Abstract

Medication Reconciliation (MedRec) is the comprehensive process of medication verification, clarification and documentation in an effort to avoid medication errors. There are many reasons that contribute to the inadequacies of current day inpatient MedRec. Among these include the limited medical literacy of patients, communication between providers and teams of providers, and the intrinsic difficulties of medical charting. Although the best approach to inpatient MedRec is not known, the following outlines the 10 most important aspects, or "Commandments", for effective inpatient MedRec. The tenets are not listed in any particular order of importance.

Keywords: Medication reconciliation; inpatient; transition of care.

Publication types

  • Editorial

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Information Storage and Retrieval / methods
  • Inpatients*
  • Medication Errors / prevention & control*
  • Medication Reconciliation / organization & administration*
  • Medication Systems, Hospital / organization & administration*
  • Medication Therapy Management / organization & administration*