title: Reducing medication errors in hospital discharge summaries: a randomised controlled trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate whether pharmacists completing the medication management plan in the medical discharge summary reduced the rate of medication errors in these summaries.
  
  
  METHODS
  Unblinded, cluster randomised, controlled investigation of medication management plans for patients discharged after an inpatient stay in a general medical unit.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Alfred Hospital, an adult major referral hospital in metropolitan Melbourne, with an annual emergency department attendance of about 60000 patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  The evaluation included patients' discharge summaries for the period 16 March 2015 - 27 July 2015.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients randomised to the intervention arm received medication management plans completed by a pharmacist (intervention); those in the control arm received standard medical discharge summaries (control).
  
  
  METHODS
  The primary outcome variable was a discharge summary including a medication error identified by an independent assessor.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At least one medication error was identified in the summaries of 265 of 431 patients (61.5%) in the control arm, compared with 60 of 401 patients (15%) in the intervention arm (P<0.01). The absolute risk reduction was 46.5% (95% CI, 40.7-52.3%); the number needed to treat (NNT) to avoid one error was 2.2 (95% CI, 1.9-2.5). The absolute risk reduction for a high or extreme risk error was 9.6% (95% CI, 6.4-12.8%), with an NNT of 10.4 (95% CI, 7.8-15.5).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pharmacists completing medication management plans in the discharge summary significantly reduced the rate of medication errors (including errors of high and extreme risk) in medication summaries for general medical patients.Australia New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry number: ACTRN12616001034426.
authors.affiliation: Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC E.Tong@alfred.org.au.
authors.forename: Erica Y
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC.
authors.forename: Cristina P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Roman
authors.affiliation: Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC.
authors.forename: Biswadev
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mitra
authors.affiliation: Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC.
authors.forename: Gary S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Yip
authors.affiliation: Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC.
authors.forename: Harry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gibbs
authors.affiliation: Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC.
authors.forename: Harvey H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Newnham
authors.affiliation: Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC.
authors.forename: De Villiers
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Smit
authors.affiliation: Monash University, Melbourne, VIC.
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Galbraith
authors.affiliation: Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Dooley
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D059065:Medication Reconciliation; D063886:Patient Discharge Summaries; D010607:Pharmacy Service, Hospital