Be Sure You Know What Meds You Take If You Go to Hospital

Admission to hospital is a often a difficult and confusing time for patients, especially if they are older, in pain, or quite ill.  It’s important for the hospital staff to be fully informed of all the medications the patient has been taking at home, including over-the-counter drugs and herbal supplements.  But getting this information at t the time of admission is an error-prone process.  Difficulties with language, medical terminology, and memory can all contribute to making the record incomplete or inaccurate.  Northwestern Memorial Hospital has reported a study done to determine the risks and potential harm associated with medication errors at hospital admission; it’s reported in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.    

On admission, patients are asked about the medications they are taking, and these are recorded.  But new patients are typically given new medications, or have changes made to their existing meds.  Analysis of 651 adult admissions to Northwestern Memorial revealed discrepancies resulting in ‘order changes’ to the pharmacy in over a third of patients.  85% of these patients had errors in their medical history, with most of them being omissions.  Over half of these errors were considered as ‘potentially requiring increased monitoring or intervention to preclude harm’; and over 11% were rated as ‘potentially harmful’.

Further analyses showed that age over 65 and a high number of prescription meds were associated with more such errors.  Presentation of a medication list or actual bottles on admission was linked with a smaller risk of error.

The remedy for this problem is for everyone – especially those over 65 and those taking a lot of meds – should maintain an up-to-date list of their meds and dosages, and carry this with them, in care of ER admission.  Don’t risk a dangerous drug interaction because you didn’t tell the admitting physician about your existing medications.