Medicines Reconciliation questions

Question 1

What are the main purposes of MedRec? List below at least 5 of them.

Answer 1

1) make sure the right patient gets the right drug, in the right dose and at the right time (i.e. continuity of treatment)
2) reduce the risk of medication errors occurring when the care of a patient is passed from one care setting to another
3) provide ongoing personalised medicines management care for each patient
4) reduce confusion about patients medication regimens(for both healthcare professionals as well as for patients)
5) improve service efficiency and make the best use of staff skills and time
6) In addition, medicines reconciliation makes the process of monitoring ongoing treatment easier.

Question 2

A toolkit of skills is needed by a healthcare professional to carry out MedRec. Make a note of the skills that you think this toolkit includes.

Answer 2

1) Effective communication skills
2) Technical knowledge of relevant medicines management processes
3) Therapeutic knowledge

Question 3

A variety of medicines records are used in the process of MedRec. List below at least 5 of these.

Answer 3

1) GP surgery patient records
2) Repeat prescription ‘slips’
3) Hospital case notes
4) Community pharmacy patient medication records (PMR)
5) Care home or social care medicines administration record (MAR) charts

Question 4

There are many benefits of MedRec. List below at least 5 of them.

Answer 4

1) A reduction in risk of medication errors and adverse drug events
2) Better communication
3) Greater patient involvement in their own care
4) A potential reduction in waste
5) A reduction in duplication of effort
6) Improved record keeping
7) An increase in the timely availability of accurate medicines information
8) The potential avoidance of medicines-related admissions
9) Improved multidisciplinary team-working
10) An increase in the potential for integrating services
11) The development of local standards and procedures for managing the transfer of patient care and medicines information

Question 5

You are talking with Tom, the charge nurse on your ward, about MedRec. He says ‘medicines reconciliation? I’ll leave that to you pharmacists’. Do you agree with him? Briefly explain your answer.

Answer 5

Establishing responsibility for a medicines reconciliation process involves a number of considerations. Firstly, there is the personal responsibility of each person involved in the process. This includes:

1) the professional responsible for the transfer of that patients care (including the prescriber)
2) the person receiving the patient into their care;
3) the patients and/or carer involved (especially if they are self-referring)
4) other people involved in medicines management for that patient, such as community nurses, matrons and pharmacists, case managers, care home staff, ward clerks, practice managers, etc
5) Secondly, there is the professional responsibility of the healthcare professionals involved in carrying out the medicines reconciliation process.
6) Thirdly, there is the corporate responsibility of each institution or organisation involved, where ownership by senior managers will give authority to those managing the service to ensure that medicines reconciliation is carried out.
7) It is important that the medicines reconciliation process is supported by local and organisational policies and procedures to embed the process into the culture of the organisation.