BACKGROUND Early hospital readmission of patients after discharge is a public health problem. One major cause of hospital readmission is dysfunctions in integrated pathways between community and hospital care that can cause adverse drug events. Furthermore, the French ENEIS 2 study showed that 1.3% of hospital stays originated from serious adverse drug events in 2009. Pharmacy-led medication re...

BACKGROUND In this study we implemented and developed state-of-the-art machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) technologies and built a computerized algorithm for medication reconciliation. Our specific aims are: (1) to develop a computerized algorithm for medication discrepancy detection between patients' discharge prescriptions (structured data) and medications documented ...

PURPOSE The effect of pharmacist conducted medication reconciliation on compliance with a hospital's medication reconciliation policy was studied. METHODS In this eight-week pilot study, one pharmacist worked in the emergency department (ED) to facilitate the safe and accurate transfer of medication histories for admitted patients. During the first four weeks, retrospective chart review was p...

A 1999 Institute of Medicine report received national attention by highlighting system vulnerabilities within health care and indicating that medication errors are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. One area of concern was the increased number of errors occurring in the prescribing phase of the medication-use process due to prescribers’ lack of essential drug knowledge and patient info...

BACKGROUND An automated dose dispensing (ADD) service has been implemented in primary healthcare in some European countries. In this service, regularly used medicines are machine-packed into unit-dose bags for each time of administration. The aim of this study is to review the evidence for ADD's influence on the appropriateness of medication use, medication safety, and costs in primary healthca...

Episodes of choking during medication administration to patients with dysphagia prompted a chart audit and caregiver interview to identify system problems that allowed inappropriate drug administration to occur. Sixty elderly patients residing on two patient care areas in a 500-bed complex continuing care facility were studied. The audit explored the actual nursing medication administration met...

AIMS To get an overview of the studies of growth in height in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) treated with stimulant medication, to establish the consistencies and to try to resolve the discrepancies. METHODS Twenty nine studies were reviewed following a Medline search: 22 related to children, six to late adolescents or adults, and one to children and adults. R...

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To assess the impact of an automated drug distribution system on medication errors (MEs). METHODS Before-after observational study in a 40-bed short stay geriatric unit within a 1800 bed general hospital in Valenciennes, France. Researchers attended nurse medication administration rounds and compared administered to prescribed drugs, before and after the drug di...