The sharing of information between GPs and hospitals on prescribed medicines, when a patient moves between services, is often patchy, incomplete, and not shared quickly enough. The Clinical Services Journal reports.
Incidents involving medication, such as prescribing errors and failures to review medication after discharge, were the fourth most commonly reported to the National Patient Safety Agency during 2008. Research suggests that around 4% of all hospital admissions are due to preventable medicine-related issues, while adverse drug reactions (both preventable and non-preventable) are likely to account for over 10,000 deaths in England per year. (Pirmohamed et al, Adverse drug reactions as cause of admission to hospital, BMJ, 2004). A recent report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has further identified concerns over the risk of harm posed by failures to share vital information on medicines, when patients move between services. The regulator recently published findings from its study of how well patients’ medications are being managed after leaving hospital – following visits to 12 primary care Trusts (PCTs) and a survey of 280 GP practices.
Survey findings
During its visits, the CQC saw some evidence of good practice, but also found that:
Log in or register FREE to read the rest
This story is Premium Content and is only available to registered users. Please log in at the top of the page to view the full text.
If you don't already have an account, please register with us completely free of charge.
