[The clinical impact of treatment discrepancies recorded for 200 patients in an acute geriatric unit]

Abstract

Introduction: Medication reconciliation is a process used to identify and prevent medication errors at care transition points in hospitals. The present study's main objectives were to quantify the frequency of inadvertent discrepancies (IDs) per patient and estimate the seriousness of the IDs' clinical impact.

Patients and methods: This was a prospective, single-center study performed in a 38-bed acute geriatric unit. All patients hospitalized over a 70-day period were included in the study.

Results: Over a 70-day period, 200 patients were included (mean±SD age: 85.5±5.9). A total of 316 IDs were recorded in 117 patients (58.5%, i.e. 1.58 per patient). One third of the IDs were considered to be serious or even life-threatening. Omission was the most common type of ID (58%). Cardiovascular drugs were most frequently involved in IDs (33%).

Conclusion: We observed an average of more than one ID per patient, when comparing drug treatment at home and drug treatment upon admission to hospital. A third of these IDs may be clinically significant. Geriatric populations with polypharmacy and multiple comorbidities are particularly sensitive to this type of error. Medication reconciliation can detect and correct IDs. Collaboration between physicians and pharmacists will improve the quality of patient care and reduce the iatrogenic risk.

Keywords: Clinical impact; Conciliation médicamenteuse; Erreur médicamenteuse; Geriatric; Gériatrie; Impact clinique; Medication error; Medication reconciliation.