147 Prevalence and Drug Classes of Medication Discrepancies among Elderly Patients Discharged from a Tertiary Hospital

Abstract Introduction Medication-related hospital admission may lead to the development of harmful and unwanted side effects that increase the risk of mortality and morbidity. Multiple steps are being executed to overcome the medication errors and one of the strategies is through conducting the medication reconciliation process. This process involves creating an accurate list of patient’s medications which to be compared with the current medications list upon transfer from different point of care or discharge. Any differences detected are categorized as medication discrepancies either being intentional or unintentional. This study aims to determine the prevalence and drug classification of medications discrepancies among patient discharged from a geriatric ward. Method This study was conducted retrospectively for three months in a geriatric ward. Comparisons were made between medications list on admission from the Medication History Assessment Form with the in-patient medication chart and medications upon discharge by a pharmacist to detect any discrepancies. Descriptive analysis was used to identify prevalence and the drug classification of medication discrepancies among elderly patients discharged from tertiary hospital. Results 1056 medications for 74 patients were screened for discrepancies. 689 (65.3%) discrepancies were detected with a mean of 9.31 ± SD 4.02. The highest number of intentional and unintentional medication discrepancies were detected in cardiovascular drugs (29.1%, n = 155) and (36.5%, n = 57). The drugs on admission and upon discharged that involved in discrepancies were diuretics, antihypertensives and antilipemic agents. Conclusion The number of medication discrepancies was found to be common among elderly patients discharged from the geriatric wards. Findings from this study have highlighted the importance of comprehensive medication reconciliation process prior to discharge in preventing medication discrepancies.