SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Improving Medication Reconciliation Rate at a Comprehensive Cancer Center

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This quality improvement project at MD Anderson Cancer Center aimed to raise admission medication reconciliation (MedRec) completion within 24 hours of admission to above 95% by August 30, 2023. MedRec is critical for patient safety because inaccurate medication histories contribute substantially to medication errors and related harm.<br /><br />The team found baseline compliance was 79% in July 2022, with unclear accountability and inconsistent workflows identified as the main causes of non-compliance. To address this, they revised the institutional policy to clarify roles and expectations, created a detailed process map for admission MedRec across service lines, and identified responsible parties for each step in the workflow. They also improved Epic reporting to display compliance by hospital service and provider, added an alert column to patient lists for incomplete MedRecs, and used service champions to standardize training for nurses and providers. Collaboration with nursing practice, nursing informatics, and pharmacy helped refine the medication list review process and address workflow gaps.<br /><br />Following these interventions, compliance improved from 79% to a sustained range of 86%–88% over subsequent months, showing that clearer accountability, standardized processes, and better reporting can improve MedRec completion. The authors conclude that admission MedRec requires strong interprofessional collaboration and formal policy support. Future work will focus on identifying remaining barriers, improving MedRec during transfers and discharge, and increasing the accuracy of medication lists by involving patients, caregivers, and ambulatory providers across the full care continuum.

Asset Subtitle

Ed Kheder

Meta Tag

Author List Ed Kheder, Latrisha Harris, Laura Michaud, Lijo Saji, Marina George, Ranganath Iyer, Sreedhar Mandayam

Category Innovations

Concept Medication Reconciliation

Concept Patient Safety

Concept Medication Error

Concept Medication List Accuracy

Concept Transitional Care

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center

Presenting Author Ed Kheder

Track Patient Safety

Keywords

medication reconciliation

patient safety

quality improvement

admission compliance

hospital policy

workflow standardization

Epic reporting

interprofessional collaboration

nursing informatics

MD Anderson Cancer Center

Medication Reconciliation

Patient Safety

Medication Error

Medication List Accuracy

Transitional Care