TY - JOUR PY - 2024// TI - Keeping patients safe through medication review and management in the community JO - British journal of community nursing A1 - Su-Fee, Lim A1 - Yi, Xu A1 - Jamil, Nursa'adah Binte A1 - Idris, Muhammad Usamah Bin Mohamed A1 - Towle, Rachel Marie A1 - Aloweni, Fazila A1 - Yuh, Ang Shin SP - 288 EP - 293 VL - 29 IS - 6 N2 - BACKGROUND: There are numerous publications on inpatient medication errors. However, little focus is given to medication errors that occur at home. AIMS: To describe and analyse the types of medication errors among community-dwelling patients following their discharge from an acute care hospital in Singapore.

METHOD: This is a retrospective review of a 'good catch' reporting system from December 2018 to March 2022. Medication-related errors were extracted and analysed.

FINDINGS: A total of 73 reported medication-related error incidents were reviewed. The mean age of the patients was 78 years old (SD=9). Most patients managed their medications independently at home (45.2%, n=33). The majority of medications involved were cardiovascular medications (51.5%, n=50). Incorrect dosing (41.1%, n=39) was the most common medication error reported. Poor understanding of medication usage (35.6%, n=26) and lack of awareness of medication changes after discharge (24.7%, n=18) were the primary causes of the errors.

CONCLUSION: This study's findings provide valuable insights into reducing medication errors at home. More attention must be given to post-discharge care, especially to preventable medication errors. Medication administration and management education can be emphasised using teach-back methods.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 1462-4753 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.12968/bjcn.2024.29.6.288 ID - ref1 ER -