Factors Influence Compliance to Medication Reconciliation Process in King Abdullah Medical City

Abstract

Medication reconciliation has been recognized as an important National Patient Safety Goal by the Joint Commission. Studies have shown that hospitals with medication reconciliation Programs led by pharmacists, as part of the interdisciplinary team, may have improved outcomes in the following areas of assessment: the rates of medication errors, adverse events, and readmissions. This study aims to investigate the factors that influence the compliance to the medication reconciliation process. It is a quantitative analytical Cross-Sectional design undertaken at the specialized hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The study adopted the following independent variables (knowledge and training about medication reconciliation, Medication reconciliation policy, procedures involved in the medication reconciliation process, and organizational support) and the compliance to the medication reconciliation process in KAMC as dependent variables. Data collected from 90 pharmacists by using a self-administered questionnaire. When proving the hypothesis, the result showed that there is a positive correlation between the study variables including knowledge and training, medication reconciliation policy and procedures, and organizational management support with the compliance of medication reconciliation process. This study concluded that hospital pharmacists should be knowledgeable and have adequate training about medication reconciliation process. Proper implementations of policy and procedures with the organizational management support can contribute to improving the medication reconciliation process. However, further studies are needed to include all physicians and nurses to determine overall institutional factors that influence medication reconciliation process improvement.