Using consumer-based kiosk technology to improve and standardize medication reconciliation in a specialty care setting.

Background: Discrepancies in medication documentation most often occur at handoffs or transition points in care. A process improvement team at the Portland Department of Veterans Affairs developed a standardized medication reconciliation process for the Portland chemotherapy administration unit, a physically self-contained clinic with a standard intake process and a uniform patient traffic pattern.

Methods: The team developed the automated patient history intake device (APHID), a reconciliation software program accessed by the patient using a computer terminal kiosk in the clinic lobby.

Design and implementation of a medication reconciliation kiosk: the Automated Patient History Intake Device (APHID).

Errors associated with medication documentation account for a substantial fraction of preventable medical errors. Hence, the Joint Commission has called for the adoption of reconciliation strategies at all United States healthcare institutions. Although studies suggest that reconciliation tools can reduce errors, it remains unclear how best to implement systems and processes that are reliable and sensitive to clinical workflow.