Patient harm resulting from medication reconciliation process failures: A study of serious events reported by Pennsylvania hospitals (March 2021)

Summary

Medication reconciliation broadly defined includes both formal and informal processes that involve the comprehensive evaluation of a patient’s medications during each transition of care and change in therapy. The medication reconciliation process is complex, and studies have shown that up to 91% of medication reconciliation errors are clinically significant and 1–2% are serious or potentially life-threatening. The Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS) identified 93 serious events related to the medication reconciliation process reported between January 2015 and August 2020.