QEII Hospital has claimed Queensland’s highest hospital discharge medication reconciliation rate for the month of July 2024, after reconciling an incredible 857 patients in 31 days.
QEII Director of Pharmacy Natalie Tasker (pictured centre) owes the success to a united interprofessional QEII effort that holistically supports patients from admission to discharge.
“We really want to highlight the incredible team behind this achievement,” said Natalie.
“It’s a true multidisciplinary effort, from our pharmacists who ensure we get every patient’s medication list on admission, to our prescribers and our medical staff who make sure that on discharge they’re confirming what medicines they want patients to go home on. That enables our pharmacists to then produce an up-to-date and accurate medicine list for patients,” she explained.
At the heart of the multidisciplinary team’s success is a shared focus on clear communication, patient education, and holistic care strategies. Natalie says the short and long-term benefits of this collective vision is empowering patients and their care providers, while effectively reducing medicine-related risks and readmissions across QEII’s services.
“The discharge reconciliation step is essential for next care providers to have confidence that they are continuing the medication therapy that was recommended during the patient’s hospital stay,” explained Natalie.
“For us to have the confidence that these patients are going to their next point of care at home or in the community and that they are going to get their medicines as we intended is really powerful. Importantly, this has been shown in the literature to help reduce readmission rates relating to medicines use.”
Continuity of medicine management is first priority at the Pharmacy Department, where the team’s longstanding commitment to this vision has supported a steady improvement in patient outcomes, underscoring the importance of the Medication Safety Standard.
“Continuity of medication management is one of the key outcomes for pharmacy. We want to make sure that when patients come into hospital, we get an accurate list of their regular at-home medicines, and that we continue the medicines that need to be continued while they're in hospital, and provide support with any problems they're having with their medicines,” Natalie explained.
“Similarly, when patients are discharged, we want them to know what changes we might have made to their medicines, and we want them to be confident managing their medicines in whatever environment they are discharged to. Broadly speaking, that goal is a key element of Standard 4.”
As they celebrate the win alongside their clinical colleagues, Natalie and her team look forward to supporting more vulnerable patients as the QEII population grows.
“Ensuring continuity of medicine management for 857 patients is a phenomenal achievement. I’m so proud to lead this team and to see their commitment to prioritising patients who need this care the most. We work with some really vulnerable patient cohorts, and to be able to serve them and help improve the health of our community is part of our role and what brings us all to work every day,” she said.
“This achievement has strengthened everyone’s resolve that we’re on the right track with the goals we’ve set for ourselves in line with Standard 4, and that we are positively impacting and improving patient care at QEII.”
Congratulations to all involved in this remarkable achievement and thank you for all the fantastic work you do to support the QEII community.