Medication reconciliation in ambulatory oncology new patient clinics.

Medication Reconciliation (MedRec) is an essential part of safe medication management and plays a key role in ensuring patient safety. A variety of methods and a number of different healthcare disciplines can be involved in the MedRec process and the timing and location of conducting MedRec can vary. In an effort to streamline the process in ambulatory oncology new patient clinics, a pilot of an alternative approach was undertaken whereby pharmacists with advanced prescribing privileges completed MedRec with patients prior to their clinic visit. Evaluation of the pilot was completed through the collection of various metrics, a pharmacist focus group, healthcare staff and patient surveys. Overall the evaluation indicated that there are multiple factors to consider regarding the timing and method of MedRec completion. The various phases of the pilot demonstrated that flexibility to the process is key and ongoing efforts are required at reducing duplication.

How nurses contribute to medicines reconciliation.

The process of obtaining an up-to-date and accurate patient medication list, medicines reconciliation (MedRec), is vital to ensuring patient safety. Despite its high status as a patient safety issue, and the efforts made to drive and implement robust MedRec processes, further efforts are required to identify and disseminate best practice (Greenwald et al 2010). This article outlines some of the principles involved in conducting effective MedRec and invites interested nurses to join a working group that aims to develop a best-practice toolkit.