What proportion of vancomycin trough levels are drawn too early?: frequency and impact on clinical actions.

Vancomycin trough levels are recommended to predict vancomycin efficacy, and inaccurate levels may lead to inappropriate clinical actions. However, the frequency of timing errors and associated clinical impact is unknown. We retrospectively analyzed vancomycin levels (n = 2,597) measured during 13 months at a large academic medical center.

Effect of an electronic medication reconciliation application and process redesign on potential adverse drug events: a cluster-randomized trial.

Background: Medication reconciliation at transitions in care is a national patient safety goal, but its effects on important patient outcomes require further evaluation. We sought to measure the impact of an information technology-based medication reconciliation intervention on medication discrepancies with potential for harm (potential adverse drug events [PADEs]).

Methods: We performed a controlled trial, randomized by medical team, on general medical inpatient units at 2 academic hospitals from May to June 2006.

Classifying and predicting errors of inpatient medication reconciliation.

Background: Failure to reconcile medications across transitions in care is an important source of potential harm to patients. Little is known about the predictors of unintentional medication discrepancies and how, when, and where they occur.

Objective: To determine the reasons, timing, and predictors of potentially harmful medication discrepancies.