Keeping patients safe during transfer

摘要

THE likelihood that an elderly medical patient will be discharged on the same medicines they had on admission to hospital is less than 10 per cent. Between 28 and 40 per cent of medicines are discontinued during a hospital stay and 45 per cent prescribed at discharge are new Around 60 per cent of patients have three or more medicines changed during their hospital stay and adverse drug events occur in up to 20 per cent of patients after discharge. It is estimated that 11 to 22 per cent of hospital admissions for exacerbations of chronic disease are a direct result of noncompliance with medication.