title: Medication reconciliation in pediatric cardiology performed by a pharmacy technician: a prospective cohort comparison study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Medication reconciliation reduces potential medication discrepancies and adverse drug events. The role of pharmacy technicians in obtaining best possible medication histories (BPMHs) and performing reconciliation at the admission and transfer interfaces of care for pediatric patients has not been described.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare the completeness and accuracy of BPMHs and reconciliation conducted by a pharmacy technician (pilot study) and by nurses and/or pharmacists (baseline). The severity of identified unintentional discrepancies was rated to determine their clinical importance.
  
  
  METHODS
  This prospective cohort comparison study involved patients up to 18 years of age admitted to and/or transferred between the Cardiology ward and the Cardiac Critical Care Unit of a pediatric tertiary care teaching hospital. A pharmacy resident conducted two 3-week audits: the first to assess the completeness and accuracy of BPMHs and reconciliation performed by nurses and/or pharmacists and the second to assess the completeness and accuracy of BPMHs and reconciliation performed by a pharmacy technician.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total number of patients was 38 in the baseline phase and 46 in the pilot period. There were no statistically significant differences between the baseline and pilot audits in terms of completion of BPMH (82% [28/34] versus 78% [21/27], p = 0.75) or completion of reconciliation (70% [23/33] versus 75% [15/20], p = 0.76) within 24 h of admission. Completeness of transfer reconciliation was significantly higher during the pilot study than at baseline (91% [31/34] versus 61% [11/18], p = 0.022). No significant differences between the baseline and pilot audits were found in the proportions of patients with at least one BPMH discrepancy (38% [13/34] versus 22% [6/27], p = 0.27), at least one unintentional discrepancy upon admission (21% [7/33] versus 10% [2/20], p = 0.46), or at least one unintentional discrepancy at the transfer interface (6% [1/18] versus 3% [1/34], p = 0.58). None of the 16 unintentional discrepancies were rated as causing severe patient discomfort or clinical deterioration.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A trained pharmacy technician can perform admission and transfer medication reconciliation for pediatric patients with completeness and accuracy comparable to those of nurses and pharmacists. Future studies should explore the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of this practice model.
authors.affiliation: BScPhm, ACPR, RPh, is with the Department of Pharmacy, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario.
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: BScPhm, ACPR, RPh, is with the Department of Pharmacy, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario.
authors.forename: Renée
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Woo
authors.affiliation: BScPhm, PharmD, MSc, ACPR, RPh, is with the Department of Pharmacy, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario.
authors.forename: Winnie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Seto
authors.affiliation: BScPhm, PharmD, ACPR, RPh, is with the Department of Pharmacy, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pong
authors.affiliation: RN, MN, is with the Quality and Risk Management Department, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario.
authors.forename: Tessie
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gilhooly
authors.affiliation: MD, FRCPC, is with the Division of Cardiology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Russell
keywords: best possible medication history; cardiac critical care; cardiology; medication reconciliation; pediatrics; pharmacy technician