Patient Need for Information about Medicine on Discharge from Hospital
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Need for Information about medicines in patients upon discharge from hospital
IRAS ID
134226
Contact name
Stuart Gill-Banham
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Kent
Research summary
Patients often have their medicines changed while in hospital, but may not be given adequate information about these changes which has the potential to lead to confusion about which medicines should be continues after discharge. We know that there is variation between hospitals in providing information to in-patients about medicines. However no work has looked specifically at newly prescribed medicines or changes made in hospital and whether patients need more support than they currently receive with ensuring these changes are continued after they leave hospital. Often transfer of information about medicines changes is poor and errors can occur in up to 20% of cases. Community pharmacists can offer a service related to newly prescribed medicines, which is particularly relevant after discharge, but it is not often used. Problems can occur through the use of repeat prescribing systems and pharmacist ordering of these without awareness of any changes made during hospital stay. Doubling up of similar medicines or failure to continue new medicines can occur as a result.
This study will explore what information patients have received while in hospital about medicines use after discharge and what support they think they may want with using medicines after discharge using a questionnaire. It will also seek to find out what has happened in relation to obtaining medicines supply and using these after discharge by a short telephone call to patients a few weeks later. In those who agree, we will try to find out in more depth how any problems have arisen and what changes to prescribing and ordering systems or addition support, such as advice from community pharmacists could have prevented these.
The study is therefore designed to identify any problems with medicines use after hospital discharge and help to recommend potential solutions.REC name
West Midlands - Solihull Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/WM/0420
Date of REC Opinion
21 Oct 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion