Background: Elderly patients are at high risk of unintentional medication discrepancies during transition of care as they are more likely to have multiple comorbidities and chronic diseases that require multiple medications.
Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the frequency of unintentional medication discrepancies and identify the associated risk factors and potential clinical impact of them in elderly inpatients during hospital admission.
Patients and methods: A prospective observational study was conducted from July to December 2018 in an 800-bed geriatric hospital in Hanoi, North Vietnam. Patients over 60 years of age, admitted to one of selected internal medicine wards, taking at least one chronic medication before admission, and staying at least 48 h were eligible for enrollment. Medication discrepancies of chronic medications before and after admission of each participant were identified by a pharmacist using a step-by-step protocol for the medication reconciliation process. The identified discrepancies were then classified as intentional or unintentional by an assessment group comprising a pharmacist and a physician. A logistic regression model was used to identify risk factors of medication discrepancies.
Results: Among 192 enrolled patients, 328 medication discrepancies were identified, with 87 (26.5%) identified as unintentional. Nearly a third of enrolled patients (32.3%) had at least one unintentional medication discrepancy. The most common unintentional medication discrepancy was omission of drugs (75.9% of 87 medication discrepancies). The logistic regression analysis revealed a positive association between the number of discrepancies at admission and the type of treatment wards.
Conclusions: Medication discrepancies are common at admission among Vietnamese elderly inpatients. This study highlights the importance of obtaining a comprehensive medication history at hospital admission and supports implementing a medication reconciliation program to reduce the negative impact of medication discrepancy, especially for the elderly population.
© 2021. The Author(s).