ABSTRACT

Key Points .............................................................................................................. 187 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 188 Solutions within the Current System ..................................................................... 188

Hospital Admission ........................................................................................... 188 Hospital Discharge ............................................................................................ 189

Communication by Discharge Letters .......................................................... 191 Documentation by the Next Health Care Professional ................................. 191

Information Technology for Communication between Health Care Professionals ...191 Information Technology Involving the Patient ...................................................... 193

Secure Messaging.............................................................................................. 193 Consumer-Based Kiosk Technology ................................................................. 194 Personal Electronic Health Records .................................................................. 194 Tablet Computers .............................................................................................. 195

Putting Solutions into Practice ............................................................................... 196 Commentary (I) ...................................................................................................... 196 Commentary (II) .................................................................................................... 197

In Chapter 5, the importance of professional communication was explained by illustrating the difculties associated with medication information transfer between different health care professionals. Medication discrepancies arise frequently at all levels of care transitions, putting the patient at risk for adverse drug events (ADEs). Important transitions occur at admission to and discharge from the hospital, and so many studies have focused on medication reconciliation at these transition points to improve continuity of care. Nonetheless, other transitions, such as to nursing homes or ambulatory care clinics, are equally important. The potential causes of errors can serve as the starting point for nding solutions to the problems, especially causes related to patients or information technology (IT).