Patients are particularly vulnerable to medication errors during transitions of care, such as hospital discharge. Based on clinical judgement from four experts assessing 81 cases involving medication errors at discharge, the authors estimated that between 61-85% would result in additional healthcare utilization (e.g., additional prescriptions, primary care or ED visits, hospital or ICU admissions) and additional costs.

Natural disasters and other public health emergencies (PHE), such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can dramatically change the delivery of healthcare. This scoping review identified considerable research examining the relationship between public health emergencies and disruptions to personal medication practices (e.g., self-altering medication regimens, access barriers, changing prescribing providers) and subsequent medication-related harm.

This retrospective cohort study of patients age 65 and older on chronic medications found that unintentional medication discontinuation does occur following hospitalization. As with prior studies, medication documentation in hospital discharge summaries remains highly variable.

… at the time of hospital discharge , most of which involved a pharmacist-mediated intervention. Overall, there was no … either medication discrepancies or adverse drug events. A previous commentary discussed the challenges in …

… Pharmacol … Medication errors at hospital discharge remain a persistent problem, as no consensus exists on the best …

… Eval Clin Pract … This survey of Canadian hospitals found a low rate of use of medication safety interventions such as …