If an outpatient medication is not prescribed again upon admission to the hospital, is the omission considered to be a reconciliation error?
Not necessarily. When comparing admission orders to medications a patient was taking at home prior to admission, it is critical to take into account not only what was omitted, but why. Deliberate omission of a medication is not a reconciliation error. For example, if a patient is admitted to the hospital due to drug toxicity or a complication from a drug taken at home, that is a valid clinical reason why it is not included in the admission orders. To determine whether there was a reconciliation error, see if there was adequate documentation in the patient record so that the nurse or pharmacist did not have to contact the physician for clarification about the missing drug. If the physician had to be contacted, then this should be counted as a reconciliation error, but if the documentation was clear, it is not an error.
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