HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Cohen, V. Articles by Murphy, D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Cohen, V. Articles by Murphy, D.

VICTOR COHEN, PHARM.D., BCPS, is Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice, Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY, and Clinical Pharmacy Manager, Departments of Emergency Medicine and Pharmaceutical Services, Maimonides Medical Center (MMC), Brooklyn. SAMANTHA P. JELLINEK, PHARM.D., BCPS, is Clinical Pharmacy Manager for Medication Reconciliation, Department of Pharmaceutical Services, MMC. ANTONIOS LIKOUREZOS, M.A., M.P.H., is Research Associate; IRA NEMETH, M.D., is Resident Physician; THEODORA PAUL, D.O., is Resident Physician; and DANIEL MURPHY, M.D., M.B.A., is Vice Chairman, Department of Emergency Medicine, MMC.

Address correspondence to Dr. Cohen at the Department of Pharmaceutical Services, Maimonides Medical Center, 4802 Tenth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11219 (vcohen{at}maimonidesmed.org).

Purpose. Discrepancies between medication information received from elderly patients in the emergency department (ED) at the time of initial diagnosis or therapeutic intervention and information collected by pharmacists from outside caregivers (pharmacies and physicians) were studied. The time from patient arrival at the ED to initial intervention was also studied. Methods. Written and oral medication histories of ED patients 65 years and older who were seen at an urban academic hospital between June 2003 and May 2004 were collected and represented information available at the time of initial diagnosis and treatment. A clinical pharmacist contacted all relevant physicians and pharmacies identified in the ED and compiled for each patient a medication profile. The times of ED arrival and initial intervention were recorded. Results. For the 98 patients included, the mean discordance in drug names between the two resultant types of drug list exceeded 30%. The classes of medications that varied most frequently included antihypertensives, supplements, analgesics, nitrates, and antiplatelets and anticoagulants. The median time from patient entry to initial diagnostic intervention was 37 minutes, with a range from 1 to 599 minutes. The median time from patient entry to initial therapeutic intervention was 81.5 minutes, with a range from 8 to 598 minutes. Conclusion. A pilot study demonstrated that approximately one third of elderly patients’ medication information available to the ED physician at the time of the initial diagnostic and therapeutic intervention differed from that obtainable from outside caregivers. Index terms: Analgesics and antipyretics; Anticoagulants; Dietary supplements; Geriatrics; Hospitals; Hypotensive agents; Nitrates; Patient information; Platelet aggregation inhibitors

 

This article has been cited by other articles:

				P. J. Bridgeman and K. O. Rynn Medication reconciliation in the emergency department Am. J. Health Syst. Pharm., December 15, 2008; 65(24): 2325 - 2326. [Full Text] [PDF]