Transition of care from adult intensive care settings - implementing interventions to improve medication safety and patient outcomes

On admission to an intensive care unit (ICU), patients’ regular long-term medications may be withheld while they are being stabilised. Such medications are sometimes not restarted during the rest of their hospital stay, even when transferred to a lower acuity ward or discharged from hospital.1 This puts patients discharged from an ICU at higher risk of unintentional medication discontinuation, which could lead to future exacerbation of chronic conditions. Additionally, ICU patients may have medications commenced in the acute stage of their ICU admission (eg, gastric acid secretion inhibitors) that might inadvertently be continued following transfer from the ICU.2 There is a growing body of evidence that care transitions, whether from inpatient to outpatient settings, or within a hospital stay between different specialties or departments, pose an elevated risk of patients experiencing negative outcomes such as medication errors or adverse events.3 4...
Source: Quality and Safety in Health Care - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Editorials Source Type: research