Medication reconciliation can help identify medication discrepancies during transitions of care. This study examined the impact of a complete medication history database to support pharmacist-led medication reconciliation and identification of medication discrepancies during the admission process for patients at one psychiatric hospital. A retrospective analysis identified 82 medication errors; 90% of these errors – primarily dosage discrepancies and omissions – could have led to patient harm if not corrected through pharmacist intervention.

Patient safety event taxonomies provide a standardized framework for data classification and analysis. This taxonomy for inpatient psychiatric care was developed from existing literature, national standards, and content experts to align with the common formats used by the institution’s event reporting system. Four domains (provision of care, patient actions, environment/equipment, and safety culture) were identified, along with categories, subcategories, and subcategory details.

Various factors can impact patient safety risk in psychiatric settings. This study assessed the prevalence of AEs and MEs in community hospitals and Veterans Health Administration (VHA) hospitals and found that psychiatric inpatients at community hospitals were twice as likely to experience these patient safety events than VHA inpatients, even after controlling for patient and hospital characteristics.

The authors describe a clinical pharmacy service that monitors patients on high-alert medications to prevent adverse events and improve the safety of medication administration.