Effectiveness of Pre-Consultation Medication Reconciliation Service in Reducing Unintentional Medication Discrepancies During Transition of Care From Hospital Discharge to Primary Care Setting

NCT ID: NCT03181906

Last Updated: 2017-06-09

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 200 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2016-03-11
• Study Completion Date: 2017-04-30

Brief Summary

This study evaluates the the effectiveness of pre-consultation Medication Reconciliation Service in reducing unintentional medication discrepancies among patients who discharged from hospital to primary care.

Detailed Description

Medication discrepancies during care transition were common. Many factors contribute to the risk of medication discrepancies. Despite medication reconciliation service being practiced in the hospital setting, there was limited knowledge on its effectiveness in the primary care setting. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a pre-consultation medication reconciliation service in reducing medication discrepancies in patients who transit from hospital to primary care. Adult patients who made their first visit to the polyclinics following a recent hospital discharge and were prescribed with 5 or more chronic medications were randomised to 2 groups. Pre-consultation medication reconciliation by a pharmacist was carried out for the intervention group. Outcome was assessed by a different pharmacist who was blinded to the randomised allocation. The control group underwent usual care without a pre-consultation medication reconciliation.

Conditions

Medication Administered in Error; Medication Adherence

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Pre-Consultation Medication Reconciliation

Participants underwent medication reconciliation service before their consultation with the attending doctor. A best possible medication history (BPMH) was created and saved as an electronic draft in the electronic medical record system.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Pre-Consultation Medication Reconciliation

Intervention Type: OTHER

Medication reconciliation service to be done for participants randomised to the intervention group

Control

Participants in the control group proceeded with usual care, where the doctor reviewed the patient's condition and ordered an electronic prescription

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Pre-Consultation Medication Reconciliation

Medication reconciliation service to be done for participants randomised to the intervention group

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

1. Age 21 years and older

2. Patient or primary caregiver was able to provide informed consent

3. Patient or primary caregiver was English, Mandarin or Malay speaking

4. Patient was able to self-administer medications, or accompanied by a caregiver who assisted in administering medications

5. Patient was prescribed 5 or more chronic medications

6. The day of the study visit was the first follow-up visit in National Healthcare Group Polyclinics for chronic disease management after recent discharge from a local public hospital

Exclusion Criteria

1. Residents of nursing home

2. The day of the study visit was for acute illness consult

3. Unwilling to consent to a 30-day follow-up phone call.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 21 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

National Healthcare Group, Singapore

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Kee Kok Wai

Dr.

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Kok Wai Kee, MMED

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

National Healthcare Group Polyclinics

Other Identifiers

DSRB2015/01219

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id