A Pilot Study to Assess the Appropriateness of Prescribing From a Collaborative Pharmacist Prescribing Study in a Surgical Pre Admission Clinic

Inappropriate prescribing is the failure to provide the quality of care related to medication use that should be achieved in practice, and encompasses overprescribing, misprescribing, and under prescribing [1]. Inappropriate medicine use has been defined as that which poses greater risk of harms than benefits, especially when safer alternatives exist [2]. Elderly patients, in particular, are susceptible to the consequences of inappropriate prescribing, increasing the risk of adverse drug events and related morbidity and hospitalisations [3,4]. Patients recently discharged from hospital are also at increased risk of medication misadventure, as medication is often reviewed and changed during an admission, and poorly communicated with community practitioners [5]. The importance of accurate transfer of information across the whole surgical care pathway from preadmission to discharge, including information about medications, was highlighted in a study that reported communication failures led to patient morbidity and mortality [6]. The Australian Commission on Quality and Safety in Health Care has highlighted medication reconciliation, and the accurate transfer of information about medication as a national priority [7].