Medication reconciliation means that the medicines the patient should be prescribed match those that are prescribed.
When a patient’s care is transferred to another clinician, a current and accurate list of medicines, including reasons for change, is given to that clinician. Some transition points are more prone to error and require special attention, such as:
Unintentional changes to patients’ medicine regimens often happen during hospital admissions, and can cause patient harm during a hospital stay or after discharge:
Matching up medicines can help ensure continuity of care, and prevent harm by reducing the opportunity for medication errors.
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